Former University of Iowa swimmer Dan Abel became the the 88th person to swim across the Cook straight in New Zealand on March 22, 2013. He completed the 26K swim in 6 hours and 15 minutes – the fourth fastest crossing ever. Dan, a native of New Zealand, was achieved Academic Big Ten status during his tenure on the Hawkeye swim team. Dan has also notched several top performances in the pool including national masters records in the UK.
Here’s look at the last 500 meters of this epic swim.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCACOgQmRNc&w=640&h=360]
According to Dan’s official bio: “In 2001 Dan joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force as a commissioned officer. He immediately made an impact graduating top of his commissioning class in June 2001 and was awarded the trophy for top graduate in academics, leadership and personal qualities. Amongst his achievements during an eight year career, Dan qualified as a Navigator, was the air tasking officer during relief efforts in Indonesia and Thailand after the 2004 Tsunami and also worked in the Demitilarized Zone in South Korea, providing an essential diplomatic role between international delegations, South Korean political and business interests and the military (a role for which he was highly commended).”
There are a ton of logistics that go into a swim such as this and it’s not to be taken lightly. Dan had the support of several crew members and expert navigators to aid him in his effort. You can find more about Dan’s swim here.