Many great Australian swimmers have tried, but none have succeeded in Trent Grimsey‘s latest attempt to set the world record in the English Channel.

Tammy van Wisse, Shelley Taylor-Smith and Ky Hurst have tried, but this season 3-time Australian open water swimming champion will give it a whirl between September 7th and 14th under the guidance of International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honour Pilot Michael Oram.

Grimsey is confident that he can beat the current world record of Petar Stoychev which currently stands at 6 hours, 57 minutes and 50 seconds.

Grimsey has the speed and stamina, but he is going to have to acclimate and get some luck on his side for favorable conditions during his window. “[Regarding acclimatization to cold water], I am leaving Australia in July to head over to Canada and compete in both the Grand Prix and World Cup races there. These are cold water races, similar to what the Channel will be. After these races in Canada, I’ll travel to Macedonia to compete in the last Grand Prix race. Then I’ll start my last training block in Europe before I take on the Channel. I have also started putting on weight and will continue to put on weight right up until the date I swim.” [Note his travel and preparation schedule here.]

Stoychev has set the Channel bar extraordinarily high, but Grimsey shows the confidence of someone who visualizes achievement as part of his daily training regimen. “I think I have what it takes to break the record because when I have my mind set of something, I will do everything in my power to achieve it. It’s every marathon swimmer’s dream to hold this record. I’m going to give myself every possible chance to break it. I have a very good team of people around me that are very helpful and supportive which definitely makes things a lot easier.”

At the same time, he is realistically humble and understands the whims of Mother Nature. “I’m under no illusion as to how hard this will be. I know the English Channel is very unpredictable and good conditions don’t come around very often. It was Petar’s third attempt when he broke the record. Come my tide in September I am going to be the fittest I have ever been and just hope and pray I’ll get good conditions.”

Copyright © 2012 by Open Water Source