Pugh, who just weeks ago set a new world record for the most southern swim ever completed – in 0°C water off Antarctica – is set to become the first person to complete a long-distance swim in all five oceans of the world (the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Southern Oceans)
This feat, which has been dubbed the “Holy Grail” of swimming, will catapult Pugh into the record books alongside legendary sportsmen and explorers such as Sir Roger Bannister, Roald Amundsen and Sir Edmund Hillary.
Fourth on Pugh’s 5 Oceans list was the Indian Ocean, and today Pugh swam 12 kilometres across Nelson Mandela Bay in Port Elizabeth, South Africa to bring his dream tantalisingly close. Xhosa drummers gave Pugh a warm welcome as he swam ashore, giving an African flavour to the Indian Ocean leg.
Next week (on Friday, January 27) Pugh will dive into the Pacific Ocean at the Bondi Beach in Australia and swim 17 kilometres to the Sydney Opera House to end the challenge in grand style.
Pugh who has pioneered more swims than any other swimmer in history has already completed long-distance swims in the Atlantic Ocean (English Channel, 1992), the Arctic Ocean (North Cape, Norway 2003), and the Southern Ocean (Deception Island, sub-Antarctica, 2005).
“Success is so close I can almost feel it. This challenge started 14 years ago and an enormous amount of hard training has brought me to this point. A few years ago I would never have believed this would be possible for anybody to complete a long-distance swim in all 5 oceans of the world,” an elated Pugh said.
The “5 Oceans” is modelled on the “Seven Summits” concept where mountaineers attempt to climb the highest mountain on each continent of the world.
The Indian Ocean swim today was relatively easy for Pugh compared with the challenges of his recent Arctic and Southern Ocean swims – today’s swim was in 20°C water but choppy seas resulted in Lewis taking 4 hours 57 minutes to cross the bay.
Professor Tim Noakes, Director of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa, who accompanied Pugh on his recent Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, explained that it is Pugh’s unique ability to swim in ice-cold water that is key to his success:
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“The challenge of swimming in all 5 oceans is rooted in the limitations of human
physiology. There are very few swimmers in the world that can complete a
long-distance swim in the Arctic or Antarctic in just a Speedo. Most swimmers
would be disabled within seconds of just diving into the water. Pugh has been
able to do this because he has a unique ability to raise his core body
temperature in anticipation of swimming in extreme cold water,” he said.
For Pugh, his dream is very close to becoming reality. “There’s something magical about swimming in all 5 Oceans of the world. Already nearly 100 mountaineers have done the Seven Summits, and it’ll be fascinating to see how many swimmers take up this, the ultimate of challenges,” he said.
For details on Lewis’s Arctic, Atlantic and Southern Ocean swims please see http://www.lewispugh.com
