Andrew Donaldson (born 10 February 1991 in

Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier * Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia * Irvine Island * Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada * Irvine, Alberta * Irvine Inlet, Nunavut Scotland *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotlan ...

, Scotland) is a Scottish-Australian

marathon swimmer Marathon swimming is a class of open water swimming defined by long distances, with being the unofficially held minimum distance. Routes are typically geographically based or buoy based. Geographical routes include crossings of channels and ...

, motivational speaker, and mental health advocate. Donaldson is a three-time

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

holder, most notably for the fastest time to complete the

Oceans Seven The Oceans Seven is a marathon swimming challenge consisting of seven open water channel swims. It was devised in 2008 as the swimming equivalent of the Seven Summits mountaineering challenge. It comprises the North Channel, the Cook Strait, th ...

marathon swim challenge. On 19 September 2024, he broke the world record for the

Manhattan Island Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

Swim, completing the 45.9 km course in 5 hours, 41 minutes and 48 seconds. He also holds the fastest swim across the

Cook Strait Cook Strait () is a strait that separates the North Island, North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, ...

- the waters between New Zealand's North and South Islands. Andrew was voted ''Man of the Year'' and ''Performance of the Year'' in the World Open Water Swimming Association awards for 2023.

Early life and career

Growing up in

West Kilbride West Kilbride () is a village and historic parish in North Ayrshire, Scotland, on the west coast by the Firth of Clyde, looking across the Firth of Clyde to Goat Fell and the Isle of Arran. West Kilbride and adjoining districts of Seamill and P ...

, Scotland, Donaldson started swimming with the North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club at age seven. He attended

Largs Academy Largs Academy is a Scottish secondary school, opened in August 1970, serving the towns of Largs, Fairlie, Skelmorlie and the island of Cumbrae, as well as taking placement requests from across Scotland, from places such as West Kilbride, Beit ...

for secondary school, then graduated from

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public university, public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university sinc ...

in 2012. In 2013, he relocated to

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia to pursue professional swimming. After missing out on his Olympic aspirations, Donaldson retired from competitive swimming in 2016 to work in accounting and finance. This period marked a challenging time for him, as he struggled with mental health issues. After completing his Chartered Accounting studies, Donaldson took a career break to backpack overseas. At the beginning of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, he was working as a volcano tour guide in

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. He returned to Perth in 2020 and rediscovered his passion for swimming, using it as a way to improve both his physical and mental well-being. In Perth, Donaldson co-founded Swimclan with his mentor Martin Smoothy to assist adults in learning to swim, improve their health, and pursue personal goals. This marked the beginning of his journey back into competitive open-water swimming, where he found new motivation and a renewed sense of purpose. In 2021, Donaldson made a remarkable comeback, winning the 19.7 km Rottnest Channel Swim in Western Australia. He continued to build on this momentum by setting a new record in the 34 km Derwent River Big Swim in Tasmania, and won the 25 km Palm Beach to Shelly Beach Swim in Sydney.

Oceans Seven

In August 2022, Donaldson announced his goal to complete the

challenge within a calendar year. He successfully achieved this feat, becoming the first person in history to complete all seven swims in 355 days, setting multiple records along the way. Donaldson's challenge raised significant funds and awareness for the Black Dog Institute, highlighting the importance of mental health. His journey began with a record-breaking

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

swim, completing the 33 km crossing in 8 hours, setting a new British record. He then went on to become the first Scottish male to complete the swim between the North Channel, crossing from Ireland to Scotland in 9 hours and 14 minutes. In New Zealand, Donaldson broke the world record for the

, finishing the 22 km swim in 4 hours and 33 minutes. Donaldson overcame numerous challenges, including extreme weather conditions and physical exhaustion, to complete the seven swims. His swim across the Molokai Channel in Hawaii, which lasted over 15 hours, ended with him being hospitalised due to severe throat swelling. Despite this, he persisted and went on to break the British record for the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...

and

Catalina Channel Santa Catalina Island (; ) often shortened to Catalina Island or Catalina, is a rocky island, part of the Channel Islands (California), Channel Islands, off the coast of Southern California in the Gulf of Santa Catalina. The island covers an ...

swims, solidifying his place among the world's elite marathon swimmers. After successfully crossing Japan's

Tsugaru Strait The is a strait between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture. The Seikan Tunnel passes under it at its narrowest point 12.1 miles ...

in July 2023, Donaldson completed the

challenge.

World Records Broken

* Fastest Swim Across the

: Completed in 4 hours 33 minutes 50 seconds on 8 March 2023. * Fastest Completion of the

(Calendar Duration): Completed in 355 days between 7 August 2022 and 27 July 2023. * Fastest Completion of the

(Cumulative Swim Time): Achieved a total swim time of 63 hours, 2 minutes, and 9 seconds. * Fastest Circumnavigation of

: Completed in 5 hours, 41 minutes, and 48 seconds in 2024.

Epic Swim Maui

In July 2024, Donaldson participated in the inaugural Epic Swim Maui, becoming one of the first swimmers to complete the 220 km circumnavigation of Maui over 14 days. This historic expedition aimed to raise awareness for ocean health and sustainability. As a passionate advocate for ocean conservation, Donaldson used this opportunity to draw attention to the importance of preserving marine environments.

Manhattan Island Swim

In September 2024, Donaldson broke the world record for circumnavigating Manhattan Island, completing the 45.9 km swim in 5 hours, 41 minutes, and 48 seconds. This achievement further cemented his status as one of the world's greatest marathon swimmers.

Charity Work and Advocacy

Donaldson is a dedicated advocate for mental health, sustainability, and the sport of swimming. He uses his swims as platforms to raise awareness and funds for various causes, particularly mental health. His Oceans Seven campaign raised significant funds for the Black Dog Institute, and he has supported other mental health organisations, including the Kai Fella Foundation. In October 2023, Donaldson successfully completed a 33 km swim from Rottnest Island to Elizabeth Quay in Perth, raising money for Telethon and the Perron Institute for Neurological Science. Through his advocacy, he aims to inspire others to combine sport with a sense of purpose.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donaldson, Andy Scottish male swimmers People from West Kilbride Living people British male long-distance swimmers World record holders in swimming 1991 births English Channel swimmers Cook Strait swimmers Sportspeople from North Ayrshire Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Australia People educated at Largs Academy Alumni of Loughborough University 21st-century Scottish sportsmen