- Philip Rush
Philip Rush (
New Zealand - born6 November 1963 ) is a firefighter and long distance swimmer who is the current world record holder for the fastest two and three way swim of theEnglish Channel which he completed in 1987 in a time of 28 h 21 mins (he completed the two way in a time of 16 h 10 mins) [Channel Swimming Association Solo 3-way successes [http://www.nethost4u.co.uk/CSA/content/PDF/3W0001.pdf] ](1st leg - 7 h 55 mins,2nd leg - 8 h 15 mins,3rd leg - 12h 11 mins)
To date only two other people have completed a three way channel swim.
Jon Erikson in 1981 andAlison Streeter in 1990.Philip also completed a two way swim of the
English Channel in 1985 in a time of 17 h 56 mins. [Channel Swimming Association Solo 2-way successes [http://www.nethost4u.co.uk/CSA/content/PDF/2W0001.pdf] ]Amongst Philip's other achievement include swimming the
English Channel 10 times, theCook Strait 8 times, including one of only two people to complete a Double Crossing, a feat he achieved on 13 Mar 1984 in a time of 16 h 16 mins and repeated on 9 Feb 1988 in a time of 18 h 37 mins. [Cook Strait Marathon Swim website [http://www.cookstraitswim.org.nz/history.htm] ]Philip also became the first person to complete a double crossing of New Zealand's
Lake Taupo (40.2 km) which he completed on 14-15 January 1985. He also holds the time record of 10 h 14 mins set on 10 March 1985. [Open Water Swimming - Major marathon courses [http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/RecreationSeaAndSky/OpenWaterSwimming/3/en] ]In June 2000 Philip was invited to take part in carrying the Olympic torch through
Wellington ,New Zealand .. [New Zealand Fire Service Magazine - Issue No 48 - June/July 2000 [http://www.fire.org.nz/news/Star/pdfs/48_jun_2000.pdf] ]Philip retired from swimming in 1990 and now coaches, and enjoys preparing swimmers to tackle the Cook Strait.
External links
* [http://www.channelswimmingassociation.com/ Channel Swimming Association]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/5037126.stm BBC News Article on Channel Swimming]References
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