Ultramarathon swimmer units document tempo over 55km in crocodile-filled Australian river | Swimming

Andy Donaldson and his crew have been conscious of the hazards that lay forward, however simply in case a reminder was wanted, an enormous 2.5-metre freshwater crocodile ready at first ramp forward of his longest-ever solo swim put the problem into stark focus.

Donaldson, a British-Australian ultramarathon swimmer, was about to embark on the 55km Dam to Dam Challenge from Lake Argyle to Kununurra within the East Kimberley, hoping to grow to be the primary man to finish the gruelling endurance swim.

Adding to the problem was the very fact the Ord River in distant Western Australia is well-known for its reptilian inhabitants; the freshwater crocodile inhabitants numbers 5,500 – one croc for each 10 metres of his swim.

Fortunately for the 35-year-old, freshwater crocodiles are smaller and extra timid than their saltwater counterparts – the world’s largest reptiles – and unlikely to strategy people.

Donaldson’s crew had completed its analysis beforehand and he by no means felt threatened by the wildlife surrounding him, which additionally included eagles, ospreys, kits, cormorants, darters, turtles and massive catfish.

“It was a bit nerve-racking doing a swim in the open water,” Donaldson mentioned. “There’s always a risk of wildlife. But in the same breath, people use that river every day recreationally.

“They say ‘fear is a mile wide and an inch deep’ – the perceived fear is a lot bigger than it actually turns out to be.

“There’s always a bit of a rush with adrenaline if you see anything when you’re in there or if you touch some seagrass or anything, but I didn’t actually see anything during the swim at all. It was a largely by-the-book swim.

“As always, safety comes first. We’re not putting ourselves intentionally in harm’s way. If there is anything that looks threatening, we pull the pin because we want to be smart and we want to use these challenges to share positive messages, not negativity and fear.”

Having efficiently navigated the course, ending in entrance of a whole lot of individuals lining the banks of the river in Kununurra, he posted a document time of 11 hours and 51 minutes, bettering the mark set by Simone Blaser, who was the primary individual to finish the swim with a time of 16 hours and 13 minutes in 2024 – and was a part of Donaldson’s assist crew on Tuesday.

Donaldson mentioned he was “over the moon” to finish the swim.

“It was just magical – swimming through these ancient gorges, the red cliffs, the sunrise was just spectacular out there,” he mentioned.

“I’ve had the opportunity to swim in amazing places all around the world, like Hawaii, Greece and Croatia. But I would have to say, hands down, this is the best swim I’ve ever done. It’s the most beautiful place for swimming I’ve ever experienced. It was just incredible.”

Starting in darkness at 5.38am, Donaldson was capable of set an excellent tempo within the early hours of his swim, till the searing Kimberley solar pushed the mercury as excessive as 34C and prompted assist boats to attempt to present shade for him.

A scarcity of salt – and due to this fact lowered buoyancy – within the freshwater difficult issues additional.

“Especially when you start to fatigue, your hips drop and your body position isn’t as good, so you feel like you’re dragging the legs a lot more,” he mentioned.

An sudden headwind and a bit of “dead water” – the place there isn’t a present – made issues even trickier, however with the assist of his sizeable crew he made it to Swim Beach, 6km from the township of Kununurra, by 5.29pm.

As he neared the end line, native swimmers joined him within the water for the final 200 metres.

“These challenges, they’re never achieved alone,” he mentioned. “You always have a skipper, a paddler and your coach out there in the water, people that know the river systems well so that you’re in safe hands, you can navigate those challenging sections.

“The team, the energy and the encouragement pick you up when you start to falter. These marathons are similar to the marathons of life where, if you want to pursue something, a dream, or go after big goals, you can go a lot further when you have great people around you.”

The Scotland-born, Perth-based athlete is taken into account one of many world’s main ultramarathon swimmers. He holds a variety of world data and in 2023 grew to become the primary individual to finish the infamous Oceans Seven marathon swim challenge – comprising seven ocean channel swims – in a single 12 months.