French, English and Irish swim team sets new Channel record

A team of French, English, and Irish swimmers have swum the Channel in a record time (for a relay team on this route) of 14 hours and 45 minutes.

The team was made up of Stève Stievenart, from Wimereux (Pas-de-Calais); two English swimmers, Lee Johnson and John Myatt; and two Irish swimmers, Ger Kennedy and Vincent Donegan.

Together, they set the new team relay record for the 30 km-stretch from Dover to Cap Gris-Nez (Pas-de-Calais) on January 13. The water was between 7-9C the entire journey.

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‘A great privilege’

Mr Stievenart, who is nicknamed ‘the seal’ because of his extreme swimming exploits and oily-fish-heavy diet, told The Connexion today (January 16) that this latest crossing was: “Incredible. It is an extraordinary group achievement; an extraordinary human experience and a great privilege.

“All four [of the other team members] are legends of the sport. We have all grown from this experience, both in sporting and human terms. I'm very, very, very happy,” he said.

He said that the crossing had been difficult, and that swimming in such cold water is “very hard psychological work because you do not want to start again”.

“[But] at some point, the cold anaesthetises you. And the more time you spend in the water, the more complicated it gets,” he said.

Mr Stievenart had already swum the Channel solo, on November 11, 2021. At the time it was the latest time in the year that anyone had managed the crossing.

His latest crossing was the first time that a team of swimmers has succeeded in winter.

The five-strong team was taking on the challenge to raise money for the Power of One association, which seeks to increase awareness of animal welfare challenges and help homeless animals.

Mr Stievenart has managed other major crossings in recent years too, including a three-way crossing of the Catalina Channel in California, in 2023. This took him an incredible 51 hours, 18 minutes and three seconds non-stop - he was not allowed to touch the support boat to rest.

Last year he also crossed Lake Léman (Lake Geneva), Switzerland, in 35 hours, 58 minutes. He has previously swum the North Channel, across Baikal Lake in Siberia, and Loch Ness in Scotland.

‘You enter another dimension’

In a previous interview with The Connexion in November 2023, Mr Stievenart said that after 20 hours of swimming, “you enter another dimension. You see things differently”.

“Ninety per cent of my success lies in mental preparation through meditation,” he said. “Nowadays, I am able to isolate the pain and convince myself it does not exist. Once you pass 20 hours in the water, you are in a higher state.”

Read more: ‘I hit rock bottom, learned to swim and then swam the Channel’

He has said that it was his “childhood dream” to cross the Channel, and he was saved from depression in 2017 after meeting English swimmer Kevin Murphy, who went on to become a close friend and mentor. Before meeting Mr Murphy, the now-record-breaker could not even swim.

Mr Stievenart said: “The eyes don’t lie. I think he saw the distress in my eyes. I said to him: ‘Mr Murphy, I cannot swim but I want to swim the Channel, I am prepared to do whatever it takes to get there.’

“He replied: ‘OK, we will do this over three years. A year to learn, a year to understand and a year to win.’ That’s how our story began.”

Now, Mr Stievenart trains by swimming for up to 10 hours a day, and eats oily fish such as herring, haddock, and sardines, to intentionally put on weight to help his body withstand extremely cold water temperatures.

“I discovered a wonderful world that benefits my wellbeing,” he told The Connexion. “I now have a visceral need to be in the ocean every day. I get seasick when I am not in contact with it.”

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