The extreme swimmer has set yet another record: Nathalie Pohl swum around the British Channel Island of Jersey! The 28-year-old reached the finish line at the breakwater in
Elizabeth Castle on 18 July in the exceptional time of 9:43:27 hours.She
was the fourth fastest woman on one of the world’s most technically
challenging marathon swims.
It’s not just the scenery that’s breathtaking: the swim covers a
distance of around 66 kilometres
The Round Jersey swim takes the athlete past some very beautiful
countryside. Circumnavigating the island in an anticlockwise direction,
swimmers pass long sandy beaches and the gentle cliffs of the northern
coast. But the total length of around 66 kilometres (41 miles) quickly
makes it clear that this is far from a walk in the park – it’s a tough
act of endurance. While the currents depend on the tides – with a little
luck, the swimmer may have the power of the sea on their side – you’re
still in the water for an energy-sapping ten to twelve hours at least,
pushing swimmers right to their limits. So Nathalie Pohl was all the
more delighted when she arrived at the finish line: “I set a world
record here in Jersey three years ago now. I wanted to come back again
and prove what I am capable of. The fact that it went so well this time,
too, is something I’m very proud of. And it shows me that the tough
training was all worth it.” In order to be able to put in such a
performance, everything has to work out perfectly on the day of the
swim: From the preparation to the weather conditions to her physical
fitness and also, perhaps above all, her mental state. The fact that
Nathalie Pohl enjoyed such a success again in Jersey is not a fluke but
the result of months of hard work involving hours and hours of training
every day, going beyond the swimming itself. Having said that, although
much can be planned in advance before a swim like this, and the training
plan can be followed down to the letter, every swim follows its own
rules and the ocean is an unpredictable place. That’s exactly what
Nathalie Pohl loves about open-water swimming.
Where fortune and misfortune are a hair’s breadth apart
As she explains: “I gave it my all today. Achieving success in the North
Sea again is something very special for me. This is where I experienced
my greatest defeat but also two incredible victories.” Eight years ago,
at the start of her open-water swimming career, Nathalie Pohl set off
from a point nearby in her attempt to swim the English Channel. The
attempt nearly cost her her life. One year later, she was back and broke
the German record for the 34-kilometre swim. Nathalie Pohl returned to
the North Sea in 2020 with her sights set on the Jersey Channel, a
22.5-kilometre stretch that separates the Channel Island from the French
mainland. Nathalie Pohl made the Jersey Channel crossing in 5:29:37
hours and has held the world record since.
Within reach: The first German woman to complete the “Ocean’s Seven”
Whether British waters continue to be favourable to her remains to be
seen next year. It is then that Nathalie Pohl will be once again taking
to the North Sea for her attempt at the seventh and final stage of the
“Ocean’s Seven”: the chilly 14-degree waters of the North Channel
separating Ireland and Scotland. If she succeeds, she will be the 23rd
person in the world and the first German woman ever to accomplish it.
For more information, please visit: www.nathaliepohl.de
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