Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)
A Hong Kong swimmer has become the city’s first resident to cross a channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland. It is considered the most difficult leg of a gruelling series of seven open-water challenges.
Ryan Leung Chun-hay said he was “excited” and “emotional” as he nursed his aching body a day after swimming the 40km (25 miles) across the channel in 14 hours and five minutes.
Leung started in Donaghadee in Northern Ireland’s County Down at around 4.30am local time. He said the first four hours were among the toughest, as the water’s temperatures dipped as low as 11 degrees Celsius (51.8 Fahrenheit).
“At the fourth hour, I was thinking: if this is going to be the situation, I don’t know how I’d survive,” he said. He explained that to push through, he tried to “enjoy the moment” and looked for a way to break the journey down into smaller steps.
Leung said the middle section was easier because the tide helped him along. But the final 7km stretch proved the most challenging when the tide began pushing against him.
When he finished in Portpatrick in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, he did not have the energy to pull himself out of the water, and he had to rely on the boat’s crew members, he said.
Quiz time
1. What did Ryan Leung Chun-hay achieve?
2. How long did Leung’s journey take?
3. Why were the initial four hours the most difficult for Leung?
4. Why was the middle part of the swim a little less challenging?
5. What happened to Leung at the end of his journey?
Suggested answers
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He became the first Hong Kong resident from the city to cross a channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland.
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His journey of 40km took 14 hours and five minutes.
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It was tough because the water’s temperatures dipped as low as 11 degrees Celsius.
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It was less challenging because the tide helped him along
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Leung did not have the energy to pull himself out of the water and had to rely on the boat’s crew members to help.
