Philip Rush (

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

- born 6 November 1963) is a firefighter and long distance swimmer who is the current world record holder for the fastest two and three way swim of the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

which he completed in 1987 in a time of 28 h 21 mins (he completed the two way in a time of 16 h 10 mins)

Biography

(1st leg - 7 h 55 mins, 2nd leg - 8 h 15 mins, 3rd leg - 12h 11 mins) To date only three other people have completed a three way channel swim.

Jon Erikson Jon Erikson (September 6, 1954 – July 28, 2014) was an American long distance swimmer who was the first of only three people to have ever completed a three way swim of the English Channel. A physical education teacher at the time, he completed t ...

in 1981,

Alison Streeter Alison Jane Streeter MBE is a British long-distance swimmer. Biography Streeter has swum across the English Channel 43 times, the most crossings done by an individual until surpassed by Chloe McCardel on 13 October 2021. She also completed seven ...

in 1990 and Chloe McCardel in 2015. Philip also completed a two way swim of the

in 1985 in a time of 17 h 56 mins. Amongst Philip's other achievement include swimming the

10 times, the

Cook Strait Cook Strait ( mi, Te Moana-o-Raukawa) separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, A H, ...

8 times, including one of only two people to complete a Double Crossing, a feat he achieved on 13 Mar 1984 in a time of 16 h 16 mins and repeated on 9 Feb 1988 in a time of 18 h 37 mins. Philip also became the first person to complete a double crossing of New Zealand's

Lake Taupō Lake Taupō (also spelled Taupo; mi, Taupō-nui-a-Tia or ) is a large crater lake in New Zealand's North Island, located in the caldera of the Taupō Volcano. The lake is the namesake of the town of Taupō, which sits on a bay in the lake's nor ...

(40.2 km) which he completed on 14–15 January 1985. He also holds the time record of 10 h 14 mins set on 10 March 1985. In June 2000 Philip was invited to take part in carrying the Olympic torch through

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

.New Zealand Fire Service Magazine - Issue No 48 - June/July 2000
/ref> Philip retired from swimming in 1990 and now coaches, and enjoys preparing swimmers to tackle the Cook Strait.

External links

Channel Swimming AssociationBBC News Article on Channel Swimming

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rush, Philip 1963 births Living people New Zealand male long-distance runners English Channel swimmers Swimmers from Dunedin New Zealand long-distance swimmers Cook Strait swimmers