If anyone is able to quietly swim 7 major channels under the radar, it is certainly the Swedish marathon swimmer Anna Carin Nordin. Out of the media spotlight and about as self-promoting as a sherpa on Everest, this mild-mannered mother of one put her mind to completing a task that took her around the world. This Monday, she did it, becoming the first female in history to achieve the Oceans Seven.
Traveling to Asia to complete the Tsugaru Channel, venturing to the Southern Hemisphere to cross the Cook Strait, dealing with the scale of nature across the Molokai Channel in Hawaii, dealing with night swimming in the Catalina Channel, handling the warmish waters of the Strait of Gibraltar and the vagarious English Channel, the Swedish 40-something-year-old stepped into the history books with Monday’s 14 hour 21 minute crossing of the North Channel between Scotland and Ireland.
With a fierce determination underlying a sweet personality and an unassuming ambiance, Nordin has shown herself to be a heroine of the sport.
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.