Matthias Kaßner Crosses The Tsugaru Channel
Matthias Kaßner Crosses The Tsugaru Channel
Courtesy of Channel Swim Japan, Tsugaru Channel, Japan.Matthias Kaßner completed a crossing of the Tsugaru Channel from Honshu to Hokkaido in northern Japan in 9 hours 45 minutes yesterday.
It was his fifth Oceans Seven channel in a prolific marathon swimming and ice swimming career.
He has the Cook Strait in New Zealand and the Molokai Channel in Hawaii left on his agenda after completing the English Channel, North Channel, Strait of Gibraltar, Catalina Channel and Tsugaru Channel as well as a number of other marathon swims from Europe (including the Beltquerung and Bodenseequerung) to America (Manhattan Island Marathon Swim).
Kaßner said, “What a night, what a day, what a swim. I started at midnight from Honshu and finished on forenoon at Hokkaido. It was tough open water swimming. I had a bit of everything: quiet water, rough water, sun, rain, a lot of marine life including swarms of tuna, yellowfish that I have never seen before – and don’t want to see again – and a shark directly after I was on the boat. The conditions were better than I had expected. Most importantly, I had the current on my side. It pushed me in the beginning, in the middle of the strait where I had to swim really hard to stay in a good current. In the end Mother Nature let me pass. This swim was quite special for me after last year’s DNF.”
His escort team included Yusuke Shimasaki, observer Fumiya Hirata, escort pilot Kawaue, and his wife Ina.
One of his supporters, Oliver Halder, is celebrating his successful crossing with some unique T-shirts with a Japanese theme.The shirts are sold on the Extremschwimmer online shop at www.shop.extremschwimmer.de.
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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.
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