Longest Open Water Swims
The Marathon Swimmers Federation recognizes the following all-time Solo Distance Records for open water swimming:
Extended Lists
- All known current-neutral swims over 80 km / 50 miles.
- All known current-aided swims over 125 km / 78 miles (excluding river swims).
- Longest swims by duration (24 hours or longer)
About MSF Recognized Records
Record-eligible swims must be observed, documented, and conducted according to unassisted rules and standard equipment. Distances are measured by the shortest path1 along a natural route2.
Records are classified along three dimensions:
- Body of water: ocean, lake, and river.
- Continuous3 vs. multi-segment4 swims.
- Current-neutral5 vs. current-aided swims.
If you believe a historical swim is missing from these lists, please contact us to begin the authentication process.
We’re happy to advise any challengers to these records. You may also wish to consult the MSF Documented Swims documentation guidelines.
The longest continuous, unassisted, current neutral swim along a single-segment natural route in open water.
Sarah Thomas
168.3 km (104.6 miles)
Lake Champlain
Ratified by Marathon Swimmers Federation
Route: Gardiner Island loop from Rouses Point
(New York / Vermont, USA)
67 hours, 16 minutes
August 7-10, 2017
The longest continuous, unassisted, current neutral swim along a single-segment natural route in an ocean, sea, or bay.
Chloe McCardel
124.4 km (77.3 miles)
Exuma Sound
Ratified by Marathon Swimmers Federation
The longest unassisted swim along a multi-segment natural route in an ocean, sea, or bay.
Sarah Thomas
132 km (82.5 miles)
English Channel four-way crossing
Ratified by Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation
Route: England-France-England-France-England
54 hours, 10 minutes
September 15-17, 2019
The longest unassisted swim along a multi-segment natural route in a lake or reservoir.
Joe Zemaitis
112 km (69.6 miles)
Roosevelt Lake
Ratified by Marathon Swimmers Federation
The longest unassisted swim in an ocean or sea, which may benefit from surface currents.
Veljko Rogošić
194 km (120.5 miles)
Adriatic Sea
Route: Corriente to Santa Elena (Argentina)
84 hours, 37 minutes
March 3-6, 1981
Longest Current-Neutral Swims
| Name | Water | Route | Dist km | Date | Duration | Speed kph | Category | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah Thomas | Lake Champlain | Gardiner Island loop from Rouses Point NY | 168.3 | 2017 Aug 10 | 67:16 | 2.5 | lake, island loop | |
| Sarah Thomas | English Channel | England-France-England-France-England | 132 | 2019 Sep 17 | 54:10 | 2.44 | ocean, multi-way | |
| Sarah Thomas | Lake Powell | Bullfrog UT to Wahweap AZ | 128.7 | 2016 Oct 6 | 56:05 | 2.29 | lake, one-way | |
| Chloe McCardel | Exuma Sound | South Eleuthera to Nassau, Bahamas | 124.4 | 2014 Oct 22 | 41:21 | 3.01 | ocean, one-way | |
| Joe Zemaitis | Roosevelt Lake | 4.5-way lengthwise | 112 | 2020 Nov 3 | 47:23 | 2.36 | lake, multi-way | |
| Feras Mouala | Mediterranean Sea | Cyprus to Syria | 106 | 2007 Sep 21 | 41:45 | 2.54 | ocean, one-way | |
| Caroline Block | Lake George | L.G. Village - Ticonderoga - L.G. Village | 103.6 | 2020 Sep 18 | 52:24 | 1.98 | lake, multi-way | |
| Chloe McCardel | English Channel | England-France-England-France | 99 | 2015 Aug 9 | 36:12 | 2.73 | ocean, multi-way | |
| Alison Streeter | English Channel | England-France-England-France | 99 | 1990 Aug 2 | 34:40 | 2.86 | ocean, multi-way | |
| Philip Rush | English Channel | England-France-England-France | 99 | 1987 Aug 16 | 28:21 | 3.49 | ocean, multi-way | |
| Jon Erikson | English Channel | England-France-England-France | 99 | 1981 Aug 11 | 38:27 | 2.57 | ocean, multi-way | |
| Stefanos Meltsis | Toroneos Gulf | Kallithea / Nikiti | 98 | 2011 Jul 16 | 37:50 | 2.59 | ocean, multi-way | |
| Ted Erikson | Lake Michigan | Chicago IL to Benton Harbor MI | 96.6 | 1963 Aug 24 | 37:31 | 2.57 | lake, one-way | |
| Abdel-Latif Abou Heif | Lake Michigan | Chicago IL to Benton Harbor MI | 96.6 | 1963 Aug 24 | 34:38 | 2.79 | lake, one-way | |
| Vicki Keith | Lake Ontario | Leslie St Spit to Port Dalhousie to Queens Quay Term. | 95 | 1987 Aug 7 | 56:10 | 1.69 | lake, multi-way | |
| Cameron Bellamy | Barbados circumnavigation | 90 | 2018 Nov 13 | 40:46 | 2.21 | ocean, circumnavigation | ||
| Tita Llorens | Mediterranean Sea | Javea to Ibiza | 90 | 2018 Jul 27 | 36:16 | 2.48 | ocean, one-way | |
| Tita Llorens | Mediterranean Sea | Ibiza to Mallorca | 84.3 | 2015 Jul 16 | 28:13 | 2.99 | ocean, one-way | |
| Tina Neill | Pacific Ocean | San Clemente Island to Palos Verdes | 84 | 2012 Sep 6 | 28:41 | 2.93 | ocean, one-way | |
| Ted Erikson | Lake Michigan | Chicago IL to Kenosha WI | 80.5 | 1962 Aug 22 | 35:37 | 2.26 | lake, one-way | |
| Greta Andersen | Lake Michigan | Chicago IL to Kenosha WI | 80.5 | 1962 Aug 22 | 31:00 | 2.6 | lake, one-way | |
| Stephen Rouch | Lake Memphremagog | Newport - Magog - Newport | 80.4 | 2019 Aug 23 | 25:12 | 3.19 | lake, multi-way | |
| Sarah Thomas | Lake Memphremagog | Newport - Magog - Newport | 80.4 | 2013 Sep 7 | 30:01 | 2.68 | lake, multi-way | |
| Philip Rush | Lake Taupo | Taupo - Waihi - Taupo | 80.4 | 1985 Jan 14 | 23:05 | 3.48 | lake, multi-way |
Longest Current-Aided Swims (excluding river swims)
| Name | Water | Route | Dist km | Date | Duration | Speed kph | Category | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veljko Rogošić | Adriatic Sea | Grado to Riccione, Italy | 194 | 2006 Aug 31 | 50:10 | 3.87 | ocean, one-way | |
| James Loreto | NY/NJ Harbor Estuary | 3x Manhattan circumnavigation (CW) + Pier A to GWB | 165.9 | 2021 Jul 24 | 43:43 | 3.79 | estuary, circumnavigation | |
| Diana Nyad | Atlantic Ocean | Bimini to Juno Beach, Florida | 145 | 1979 Aug 20 | 27:41 | 5.24 | ocean, one-way | |
| Stacy Chanin | NY/NJ Harbor Estuary | Manhattan triple circumnavigation | 137.7 | 1984 Aug 29 | 33:29 | 4.11 | estuary, circumnavigation | |
| Skip Storch | NY/NJ Harbor Estuary | Manhattan triple circumnavigation | 137.7 | 2007 Aug 29 | 32:52 | 4.19 | estuary, circumnavigation | |
| Andy Truscott | Channel Islands | Jersey double circumnavigation | 102 | 2018 Jul 15 | 22:07 | 4.61 | ocean, circumnavigation |
Swims Assisted by Nonstandard Equipment (selected)
| Name | Water | Route | Dist km | Date | Duration | Speed kph | Equipment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susie Maroney | Straits of Yucatán | Isla Mujeres, Mexico to Las Tumbas Beach, Cuba | 200 | 1998 Jun 1 | 38:33 | 5.19 | shark cage, stinger suit | |
| Susie Maroney | Cayman Trough | Montego Bay, Jamaica to Marea del Portillo, Cuba | 170 | 1999 Sep 15 | 34:50 | 4.88 | shark cage, stinger suit | |
| Susie Maroney | Straits of Florida | Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida | 166.2 | 1997 May 13 | 24:31 | 6.78 | shark cage | |
| Zhang Jian | Bohai Bay | Lushun to Penglai | 109.75 | 2000 Aug 10 | 50:22 | 2.18 | wetsuit | |
| Penny Palfrey | Caribbean Sea | Little Cayman to Grand Cayman | 108.1 | 2011 Jun 12 | 40:41 | 2.66 | stinger suit | |
| Spyros Chrysikopoulos | Toroneos Gulf | Kallithea / Nikiti | 98 | 2017 Jul 15 | 34:10 | 2.87 | wetsuit | |
| Tammy Van Wisse | Bass Strait | King Island, Tasmania to Apollo Bay, Victoria | 97 | 1996 Feb 6 | 17:46 | 5.46 | wetsuit, shark cage | |
| Ersin Aydin | Mediterranean Sea | Turkey to Cyprus | 70 | 1973 | 43:20 | 1.62 | shark cage |
Notes
- 1 Open water swim distances are measured by the route distance - the shortest path that fulfills the route definition (not the length of the GPS track).
- 2 A natural route utilizes only permanent geographical features to define the route waypoints. This excludes routes defined by buoys or other artificial objects.
- 3 On a continuous swim, the swimmer must swim (or float) continuously from start to finish, without touching land or otherwise gaining flotational support.
- 4 On a current-neutral swim, the swimmer does not gain a net benefit to their progress from any surface currents that may exist along the swim route.
- 5 A multi-segment swim is comprised of two or more distinct sub-routes between which the swimmer touches land (typically, for up to 10 minutes). For example, a double crossing of the English Channel.