A 17-year-old elite swimmer from Kinsale has done the unthinkable: he has become the first person ever to do a three-way Fastnet swim.
In doing so, Brian Foster set a new world record for a one-way swim from Baltimore to the Fastnet Rock; a new world record for a double swim; and, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, he became the first person to complete the triple, a 60.78 km swim in a time of 15 hours 48 minutes and 37 seconds.
‘He is only young, but he is putting everyone to shame, he is such a brilliant swimmer,’ Fastnet veteran Noel Browne told The Southern Star just a few short hours after landing back in Baltimore.
Some of the observers who were having a celebratory breakfast in the West Cork Hotel recalled how Brian set out from Baltimore at 9.32am on Tuesday morning and broke the one-way 4.54.16 record that was set by Australian swimmer Michael Payne in June.
Brian also broke the previous 13-hour 31-minute two-way record by about three-and-a-half hours, which places him in good company with Ocean Seven’s legend Steve Redmond, as well as Elaine Burrows Dillane and Jason Betley, they being the only four people to have achieved the double so far.
‘The double is an absolutely phenomenal achievement,’ said Noel. ‘But this young fella came down from Kinsale with the intention of doing a double only to turn around and head back out to the Fastnet, which he reached at 1.20am this morning.’
Noel explained that Brian was just aged 16 when he did the North Channel swim from Bangor to Scotland, only to turn around and swim back again.
That achievement got huge international media coverage, as no doubt will his latest achievement, given that the Fastnet Swim is ranked in the top thirteen most difficult swimming challenges in the world.
‘He has amazing power,’ said Elaine Burrows Dillane, who pointed out that the only other person to achieve that was the American swimmer, Sarah Thomas, who also happens to be the only woman to do a four-way English Channel swim.
Kieran Collins was the boat’s pilot but Carol Cashell was head of the crew, alongside the three observers Elaine Marie Watson, Elaine Burrows Dillane and Noel Browne.
Brian Foster also had his own crew including Carol Cashell, Rob Bohane, Karen O’Sullivan and his very proud father, Steve.
It was Steve Redmond who set the trend when he completed the first Fastnet swim in 2011. Since then others have taken to the water in the hopes of achieving the same feat.
But its ranking as one of the most difficult swimming routes in the world is increasingly attracting competitive swimmers looking to break the record. Now, they have a new challenge – the triple!
