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Scottish-Australian athlete Andy Donaldson ‘beats record for swimming around Manhattan island’
A Scottish-Australian marathon swimmer believes he has set a new record for swimming around Manhattan Island in New York.
Andy Donaldson achieved the feat in five hours, 41 minutes and 48 seconds – with the new record pending ratification.
The 33-year-old completed the 45.9km circumnavigation on Thursday, beating the previous record holder Oliver Wilkinson by two minutes.
Mr Wilkinson set the previous record, which in in 2011.
Mr Donaldson, who grew up in West Kilbride, North Ayrshire, started the challenge at 2am local time.
The swim is traditionally completed in a counter-clockwise direction and travels through the East, Harlem and Hudson rivers.
The full loop takes in New York’s impressive skyline, which includes the One World Trade Center and the Empire State Building, with swimmers also passing under a number of the city’s world-famous bridges, including the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges.
Navigating currents as strong as four knots, Mr Donaldson relied on the support of an experienced team.
He said their precision was integral to his success as he reached a maximum speed of 12kph.
Mr Donaldson said: “This was one of my toughest challenges yet, both physically and mentally.
“With the three rivers’ tides impacting the swim, we had to time everything perfectly for a shot at the record.
“I’ve been struggling with illness leading up to the event, so it was really tough out there.”
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Mr Donaldson relocated to pursue swimming professionally in 2013, and has since stacked up another three records.
Last year, he became the fastest person to swim across the Cook Strait, which separates New Zealand’s North and South islands, in four hours, 33 minutes and 50 seconds.
He also gained two records for the Oceans Seven swimming challenge, which consists of seven open water channel swims around the world, including the North Channel (between northeastern Northern Ireland and southwestern Scotland), the English Channel (between Kent and France) and the Strait of Gibraltar (between Spain and North Africa).
He beat the challenge in the shortest timespan, managing all seven straits in 355 days between 7 August 2022 and 27 July 2023.
He also has the record for the shortest cumulative swim time at 63 hours, two minutes and nine seconds.
He added: “I’m hugely grateful for my team and supporters. Without them, this wouldn’t have been possible.”