Extreme swimmer breaks Jersey to France record

Saturday 12 September 2020

A 25-year-old woman has become the fastest person to swim the ‘Jersey Channel’ from La Coupe Point near St Catherine’s to the French Coast, as part of her training for the ‘Oceans Seven’ marathon swimming challenge.

Nathalie Pohl swam the 22.5 km route on Tuesday 8 September in the record time of 05:29:37 hours – nearly an hour faster than the previous female record holder and over 15 minutes faster than the previous male record holder.

The swimmer, who is from the German state of Hesse, said she is “unbelievable happy and proud of the result.”

Pictured: Natahlie Pohl and her trainer for the ‘Oceans Seven’ challenge, Adam Walker

She completed the swim as part of her training for the ‘Oceans Seven’, a challenge that involves swimming seven open water channels.

This year alone she has swum over 1,000 km, and is no stranger to the unpredictable conditions of the English Channel.

“This is my third swim in the English Channel,” she said. “The first one nearly cost me my life before I went on to succeed here in 2016.”

“It showed me that you need to push yourself beyond your own limits in order to find success. The fact that it is here that I have set a world record is just incredible for me.”

Pictured: Nathalie swam the distance between La Coupe Point in Jersey and the French coast in record time. (Credit: Marc Le Cornu)

The swimmer had originally planned to make a crossing in Hawaii, but due to travel restrictions decided to visit Jersey instead.

“Hawaii wasn’t possible, but I’ve been drawn to the idea of going back to the English Channel for a while now. It’s also currently the only region available to me that offers the tough conditions that I need in order to prepare for the Oceans Seven,” she said.

Pictured: The swimmer beat the previous female record holder by almost one hour. (Credit: Marc Le Cornu)

Next year, Nathalie hopes to complete the Cook Strait between New Zealand’s North and South Islands.

The Moloka’i Channel in Hawaii and the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland will then make her ‘Oceans Seven’ complete.

She would become only the 22^nd person ever to complete the Oceans Seven, following Guernseyman Adrian Sarchet, who completed the challenge earlier this year.