S’pore physician completes Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming in shortest time, breaking 2021 report

SINGAPORE – Navy physician Chua Jia Long, 34, who took the plunge in September into three iconic waterways to lift funds for St Luke’s Hospital, has carried out so in report time.

Dr Chua conquered the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, generally known as one of many world’s hardest endurance feats, in simply 23 days, beating the quickest recorded time of 27 days set by Mr Joel Matos Ortiz from Puerto Rico in 2021.

The Triple Crown includes the 32.2km Catalina Channel between Catalina island and the California mainland, the 48.5km 20 Bridges swim round Manhattan Island and the 33.7km English Channel.

Dr Chua’s Catalina swim started on Sept 4, adopted by the 20 Bridges swim on Sept 10. The begin date of his English Channel leg was delayed on account of climate circumstances, however he ultimately did the ultimate swim on Sept 27.

He stated he felt “relief and joy” after the English Channel leg, however he grew to become bodily ailing with nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

“I did not get a chance to really celebrate this with my loved ones. Right now, I’m still trying to process the experience while recovering from the English Channel swim,” the medical officer within the Republic of Singapore Navy informed The Straits Times.

He was accompanied by his spouse, Ms Samantha Chia, who was in a vessel as a part of the security crew.

The feat not solely made Dr Chua the primary Singaporean to finish the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, but it surely additionally set a brand new world report for the shortest Triple Crown.

His achievement might be recorded in LongSwimsDB by the top of 2025. LongSwimsDB is the official outcomes database of the Marathon Swimmers Federation, compiling correct historic data of the world’s marathon swims and swimmers.

The Triple Crown is Dr Chua’s second fund-raising effort for St Luke’s Hospital,

with a goal of $1.5 million

.

His first was the 192km swim

within the frigid waters of New York’s Hudson River

in 2023, the place he raised greater than $250,000 for the group hospital.

With a complete distance of 114.4km, the Triple Crown is shorter than his Hudson River swim, however has the status of an internationally recognised problem consisting of three iconic and demanding swims.

Dr Chua stated every of the swims within the three waterways offered totally different challenges.

He began coaching for the problem in 2024, progressively rising the period of the swims from one hour to 2, three, 4 “and up to nine hours and beyond”, he stated.

In a earlier interview, he stated he began his day at 4.30am with a 4km swim, adopted by a night session. On weekends, he clocked as much as eight hours or 24km at a stretch.

He additionally stated coaching for cold-water swims in Singapore’s tropical local weather presents distinctive challenges so he made positive he was in California for greater than per week earlier than the primary swim to guarantee that he was ready.

He additionally had some days earlier than the New York and English Channel swims to acclimatise.

“Part of the distance and duration of swimming in Catalina was seven to eight hours at night, which was a mental challenge, coupled with the numerous and frequent jellyfish stings,” he stated, including that he completed the course in 11 hours and 17 minutes.

For the swims, Dr Chua wore swimming trunks and a swim cap.

The longer 20 Bridges swim round Manhattan Island took him a shorter time of seven hours and 56 minutes to finish, however the first couple of hours had been difficult because it was raining and windy.

“It was also a busy waterway and there were times we had to push hard and fast to avoid getting caught waiting behind ferries and cruises,” he stated.

The final leg, the English Channel, was “a long uncertain wait”.

“I could not swim in the original window of between Sept 14 and 20 as the wind conditions were unsuitable. So we extended our stay in the hope of clear weather. The swim on Sept 27 was confirmed only three days before and by then, autumn had officially started. The days were shorter and the weather had got colder. That made the Channel even more daunting,” Dr Chua stated.

It was additionally the one which he took the longest to complete, at 12 hours and 41 minutes.

“It had a bit of everything – numerous jellyfish, night swimming since we started at 2am when the weather was favourable, busy waterways, and the water was cold at 15.8 deg C,” he stated.

Associate Professor Tan Boon Yeow, chief govt of St Luke’s Hospital, stated: “This remarkable achievement by Jia Long is a true testament to his grit and resilience in overcoming immense physical and mental challenges – even against the unforgiving forces of nature. Most importantly, it reflects his unwavering commitment to raising $1.5 million in support of St Luke’s Hospital, enabling us to transform community care and enrich lives across our communities.”

Dr Chua, who’s on his method dwelling to Singapore, has managed to lift over $900,000 to date. The charity marketing campaign will proceed till Oct 31. To donate, click on on