Nathalie Pohl: German swimmer circumnavigates Ibiza

In September 2024, the 30-year-old grew to become the primary German lady to finish one the best challenges in swimming – the Oceans Seven. Swimming’s equal of mountaineering’s Seven Summits entails crossing seven of the world’s hardest straits, together with the Strait of Gibraltar, for which she set ladies’s file time of 2h 53m.

Swimming with Scottish associate Andy Donaldson, the present file holder for the quickest ever Oceans Seven swims, the duo grew to become the primary swimmers to tackle the problem of circumnavigating the well-known celebration island. Swimming as a relay group and alternating each two hours, the duo adopted a strict algorithm to make sure that the problem is recognised as an official world file.

Failure wasn’t on their minds. “For me, challenge means pushing my limits and overcoming fears. It’s precisely where things get uncomfortable that I grow – as an athlete and as a person,” mentioned Pohl earlier than embarking on the marathon feat.

For Nathalie, swimming is extra than simply sport. It’s freedom, ardour and a continuing seek for new adventures: “When I swim in the ocean, I feel at home. Every wave, every current challenges me, but that’s exactly what makes me stronger – not just as an athlete, but also as a person.”

They alternated swimming the 104.5km ultramarathon distance, changing into the primary duo ever to realize this feat. They raised over €150,000 for the DAVG hilft eV (German Association for the Promotion of Women’s Rights). Even although it was very powerful, as the 2 battled towards currents and waves – particularly towards the tip – after their efficiency, Pohl mentioned: “I’m overjoyed. Not only that we set a world record, but I’m also proud of the great team performance with Andy.”

From the third quarter of the swim onward, they needed to cope with extraordinarily tough circumstances, Pohl added: “The high waves, the current, and, in my case, seasickness, took a toll on us. I don’t even want to mention the sleep deprivation.”

Pohl’s journey into open-water swimming started in 2014, when, after years of swimming in a pool, she determined to strive the open sea. “I always felt confined in the pool. With that first jump into the sea, I suddenly felt this freedom – I knew immediately that I had found my path,” she remembers.

Since then, Pohl has pushed herself to change into one of many world’s greatest open-water swimmers and has been on unbelievable adventures across the globe as a part of her Oceans Seven quest and different open-water quests. For instance, while crossing the Molokaʻi Channel in Hawaii she swam by means of swarms of toxic jellyfish, whereas throughout her swim of the Cook Strait separating New Zealand’s North and South Islands, an albatross tried to chunk her and dolphins then accompanied her for hours.

It was throughout her Cook Strait preparations when Pohl additionally met her Ibiza swimming associate, Andy Donaldson.

“We met in New Zealand. Back then, we were both waiting for good weather for the crossing of the Cook Strait – a leg of the Ocean’s Seven,” she remembers. “All the swimmers train together in a bay beforehand and because the wait took almost five weeks, we eventually started talking. We got along well; Andy had also completed the Ocean’s Seven. This is how the idea of tackling something together that would be almost impossible to achieve alone was born.