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Steve completes his final challenge yesterday in Japan Oceans 7 Swim Challenge via Facebook

Irish swimmer completes gruelling open water challenge

Steve Redmond completed the challenge of swimming the ‘seven summits of the sea’ in Japan yesterday and will return home to Cork tomorrow.

AN AMATEUR IRISH swimmer has become the first in the world to complete a gruelling swim of seven open water channels.

Steve Redmond, 46, has become the first person to complete the Oceans7 Challenge that he set himself three years ago. He says it is considered to be the swimming equivalent of climbing the seven summits.

Redmond, who is from Ballydehob in West Cork, crossed the Tsugaru Strait in Japan yesterday evening in a time of 14 hours and 24 minutes.

The 20-kilometre swim was one of seven he undertook in order to complete the Oceans7 challenge which involves swimming seven channels of varying distances and difficulties.

Speaking about his challenge earlier this year, Redmond said: “It’s a very Irish thing. You tell an Irish person they can’t do something and they’ll do everything they can to prove you wrong.”

Redmond swam the English Channel between England and France in August 2009, followed by the North Channel between Scotland and Northern Ireland a year later.

In May 2011 he swam the Gibraltar Strait between Spain and Morocco and then in October of that year he swam the Catalina Channel off California.

He followed that up last February with a swim of the Molokai Channel in Hawaii and then the Cook Strait between the north and south islands of New Zealand the same month.

Redmond completed the challenge with his 20km swim of the Tsugaru Strait in Japan yesterday.

He will return home to Cork Airport tomorrow evening at 7.45pm.

Read: ‘It’s like climbing Mount Everest bollock naked and blindfold’ – Marathon swimmer on the verge of making history

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18 Comments
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    Mute Barry Aston
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    Jul 15th 2012, 11:09 AM

    Delighted for him. Some goal to set. Fair play.

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    Mute Richard Crompton
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    Jul 15th 2012, 5:28 PM

    Fair play to ya horse!

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    Mute Gillian Doyle
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    Jul 15th 2012, 11:28 AM

    Congratulations!!

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    Mute Eileen Gabbett
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    Jul 15th 2012, 11:38 AM

    Amazing achievement ! Congratulations.

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    Mute Faceless Man
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    Jul 15th 2012, 12:10 PM

    Speaking as someone who can barely swim the width of a pool, well done.

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    Mute Dave McFadden
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    Jul 15th 2012, 12:11 PM

    Fair play to him! Great achievement, it won’t be so good when he grows a second willy from the radiation though :D

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    Mute You Reacted Ha Ha!
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    Jul 15th 2012, 12:26 PM

    He might need one after that! Fair play to him

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    Mute Mike Thomas
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    Jul 15th 2012, 1:44 PM

    Congratulations, what an amazing achievement .

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    Mute Stephen Caulfield
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    Jul 15th 2012, 12:56 PM

    Brilliant achievement. Bet he was bursting to go to the toilet after 14 hours.

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    Mute Lucille Ball
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    Jul 15th 2012, 1:30 PM

    What an achievement !!! He should be very proud of himself..

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    Mute Petr Tarasov
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    Jul 15th 2012, 3:26 PM

    The whole thing seems to have gone swimmingly.

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    Mute Kevin Maybury
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    Jul 15th 2012, 6:10 PM

    that is impressive but he should try swimming the malacca straits if he makes it across without getting hit by a ship then i would be really impressed

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    Mute Eamonn Farrell
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    Jul 15th 2012, 2:50 PM

    john,get a life.he is actually from castledermot, co. kildare.!!! well done from all in castledermot !

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    Mute Niamh Byrne
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    Jul 15th 2012, 8:21 PM

    Wow amazing achievement especially considering its Jellyfish season. Well done.

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    Mute Sandra O Shea
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    Jul 15th 2012, 7:10 PM

    Proud to say I know Steve! True gentle giant, well done!

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    Mute Karl O' Neill
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    Jul 16th 2012, 11:07 AM

    Incredible. Well done Steve. What an amazing feat of endurance.

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    Mute John O'Neill
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    Jul 15th 2012, 2:25 PM

    Why?

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    Mute David
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    Jul 15th 2012, 8:07 PM

    It’s called ambition!

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