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Half Century Club - Cook Strait
To date, there has been a very special group of three individuals - marathon swimmers over the age of 50 years - who have successfully swum between the North and South Islands of New Zealand: members of the Cook Strait Half Century Club.
Their grit and determination are admirable at any age. These aquatic adventurers thrive in this Fountain of Youth and have proven that some things do get better with age. The members of this exclusive club are listed below.
If you know of any individuals who are not listed and who are eligible to join the Half Century Club in any open body of water, please send information on the swimmer's name, country, official time, date and location to Open Water Source via email ([email protected]). For additional information on marathon swimming records, visit the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame website.
Their grit and determination are admirable at any age. These aquatic adventurers thrive in this Fountain of Youth and have proven that some things do get better with age. The members of this exclusive club are listed below.
If you know of any individuals who are not listed and who are eligible to join the Half Century Club in any open body of water, please send information on the swimmer's name, country, official time, date and location to Open Water Source via email ([email protected]). For additional information on marathon swimming records, visit the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame website.
From The Daily News of Open Water Swimming
Philip Rush, a three-way English Channel swimmer and member of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, is never one to boast or exaggerate, is a special individual whose broad shoulders, steely determination and cheerful personality embody the sport.
Philip now a 46-year-old firefighter and marathon swimming coach from Wellington, New Zealand, remains the world record holder for the fastest two- and three-way crossings of the English Channel in history. In his record-setting 1987 triple-crossing swim, he swam his first leg in 7 hours 55 minutes, his second leg in 8 hours 15 minutes and his third leg in 12 hours 11 minutes for a double-crossing record of 16 hours 10 minutes and a triple-crossing record of 28 hours 21 minutes.
Judging from his split times, one would guess that Philip significantly slowed on his third leg, but people who were on his escort boat recall that the tides simply turned on him and it was tough going on the third leg.
Only two other individuals have completed an English Channel triple crossing and they are very well-known in the annals of marathon swimming: Jon Erikson in 1981 and Alison Streeter in 1990.
Besides his incredible triple crossing, Philip also completed a 17 hour 56 minute double-crossing of English Channel in 1985, two double-crossings of the cold and treacherous 16-mile Cook Strait in New Zealand (16 hours 16 minutes in 1984 and 18 hours 37 minutes in 1988) and had two extraordinarily tough Lac St-Jean double-crossing professional races against the legendary Claudio Plit.
Some of his other marathon swimming highlights include:
1. Crossing the English Channel 10 times
2. Crossing the Cook Strait (North to South) in 8 hours 56 minutes in 1979.
3. Placing 2nd in a 38K international race in the Nile River, Egypt in 1979.
4. Placing 3rd in the 30K world championships in Italy in 1979.
5. Placing 3rd in the 30K world championships in Italy in 1981.
6. Finishing 7th in the 42K Lac St-Jean pro race in 1981.
7. Winning the 22K Wellington Harbour, New Zealand race in 1982.
8. Winning the 22K Otago Harbour, New Zealand race in 1982.
9. Winning the 24K Australian Championships in 1982.
10. Crossing the 32K Catalina Channel in 8 hours 2 minutes in 1982.
11. Finishing 5th in the 22-mile Atlantic City pro race in 1983.
12. Finishing 5th in the 42K Lac St-Jean pro race in 1983.
13. Finishing 4th in the 48K Lac Memphremagog pro race in 1983.
14. Winning the 29K Paspediac, Canada race in 1983.
15. Finishing 5th in the 22-mile Atlantic City pro race in 1984.
16. Finishing 8th in the 48K Lac Memphremagog pro race in 1984.
17. Finishing 4th in the 42K Lac St-Jean pro race in 1984.
18. Finishing 2nd in the 29K Paspediac, Canada race in 1984.
19. 1st double-crossing of 84K Lake Taupo in 23 hours 6 minutes in 1985.
20. Doing the Ironman Enduro Rotorua (included 10 hours of swimming) in 1985.
21. Finishing 6th in the 48K Lac Memphremagog pro race in 1985.
22. Finishing 2nd in the 62K Lac St-Jean Double-Crossing pro race in 1985.
23. Finishing 4th in the 48K Lac Memphremagog pro race in 1986.
24. Finishing 2nd in the 62K Lac St-Jean Double-Crossing pro race in 1986.
25. Finishing 2nd in the 48K Lac Memphremagog pro race in 1987.
26. Finishing 7th in the 48K Lac Memphremagog pro race in 1988.
27. Crossing Maori Kapiti Island to d'Uurville Island.
Fortunately, for the sport, Philip continues to play an invaluable role as he coaches and advises swimmers who challenge the Cook Strait (see photo above) and is the Open Water Swimming Programme Manager for Swimming New Zealand. To date, he has successfully coached 27 swimmers across the Cook Strait and is developing New Zealand's top-notch open water swimming program.
Philip is clearly a beacon of the past and a standard-bearer for the future with experiences and knowledge that are the true treasures of the global open water swimming community.
Philip now a 46-year-old firefighter and marathon swimming coach from Wellington, New Zealand, remains the world record holder for the fastest two- and three-way crossings of the English Channel in history. In his record-setting 1987 triple-crossing swim, he swam his first leg in 7 hours 55 minutes, his second leg in 8 hours 15 minutes and his third leg in 12 hours 11 minutes for a double-crossing record of 16 hours 10 minutes and a triple-crossing record of 28 hours 21 minutes.
Judging from his split times, one would guess that Philip significantly slowed on his third leg, but people who were on his escort boat recall that the tides simply turned on him and it was tough going on the third leg.
Only two other individuals have completed an English Channel triple crossing and they are very well-known in the annals of marathon swimming: Jon Erikson in 1981 and Alison Streeter in 1990.
Besides his incredible triple crossing, Philip also completed a 17 hour 56 minute double-crossing of English Channel in 1985, two double-crossings of the cold and treacherous 16-mile Cook Strait in New Zealand (16 hours 16 minutes in 1984 and 18 hours 37 minutes in 1988) and had two extraordinarily tough Lac St-Jean double-crossing professional races against the legendary Claudio Plit.
Some of his other marathon swimming highlights include:
1. Crossing the English Channel 10 times
2. Crossing the Cook Strait (North to South) in 8 hours 56 minutes in 1979.
3. Placing 2nd in a 38K international race in the Nile River, Egypt in 1979.
4. Placing 3rd in the 30K world championships in Italy in 1979.
5. Placing 3rd in the 30K world championships in Italy in 1981.
6. Finishing 7th in the 42K Lac St-Jean pro race in 1981.
7. Winning the 22K Wellington Harbour, New Zealand race in 1982.
8. Winning the 22K Otago Harbour, New Zealand race in 1982.
9. Winning the 24K Australian Championships in 1982.
10. Crossing the 32K Catalina Channel in 8 hours 2 minutes in 1982.
11. Finishing 5th in the 22-mile Atlantic City pro race in 1983.
12. Finishing 5th in the 42K Lac St-Jean pro race in 1983.
13. Finishing 4th in the 48K Lac Memphremagog pro race in 1983.
14. Winning the 29K Paspediac, Canada race in 1983.
15. Finishing 5th in the 22-mile Atlantic City pro race in 1984.
16. Finishing 8th in the 48K Lac Memphremagog pro race in 1984.
17. Finishing 4th in the 42K Lac St-Jean pro race in 1984.
18. Finishing 2nd in the 29K Paspediac, Canada race in 1984.
19. 1st double-crossing of 84K Lake Taupo in 23 hours 6 minutes in 1985.
20. Doing the Ironman Enduro Rotorua (included 10 hours of swimming) in 1985.
21. Finishing 6th in the 48K Lac Memphremagog pro race in 1985.
22. Finishing 2nd in the 62K Lac St-Jean Double-Crossing pro race in 1985.
23. Finishing 4th in the 48K Lac Memphremagog pro race in 1986.
24. Finishing 2nd in the 62K Lac St-Jean Double-Crossing pro race in 1986.
25. Finishing 2nd in the 48K Lac Memphremagog pro race in 1987.
26. Finishing 7th in the 48K Lac Memphremagog pro race in 1988.
27. Crossing Maori Kapiti Island to d'Uurville Island.
Fortunately, for the sport, Philip continues to play an invaluable role as he coaches and advises swimmers who challenge the Cook Strait (see photo above) and is the Open Water Swimming Programme Manager for Swimming New Zealand. To date, he has successfully coached 27 swimmers across the Cook Strait and is developing New Zealand's top-notch open water swimming program.
Philip is clearly a beacon of the past and a standard-bearer for the future with experiences and knowledge that are the true treasures of the global open water swimming community.
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www.openwatersource.com is a web property of Pan Pacific Partners.
© 2010 Pan Pacific Partners, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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