Scottish Australian Andy Donaldson breaks world record swim around Manhattan

Swimmer Andy Donaldson smashed a 13-year record in the ‘fierce tides and swirling currents’ of New York City, on his way to completing the ‘triple crown’ of open water marathons.

Australian swimmer Andy Donaldson broke a 13-year world record circumnavigating the “fierce tides and swirling currents” around Manhattan Island in New York City.

The marathon swimmer, born in Scotland but now an Australian citizen living in Perth, set the new record (pending ratification) by completing the 45.9km course in five hours, 41 minutes and 48 seconds.

It beat the previous record by more than two minutes, and gave Mr Donaldson the “triple crown” of open water marathon swims under his belt, including the crossing of the English Channel, which he swam in eight hours, and the Catalina Channel, in nine hours, 22 minute and 52 seconds.

The previous record for New York’s “20 Bridges Swim” was set by Oliver Wilkinson in 2011 at 5:44:02.

Speaking after the race, Mr Donaldson said it could be weeks before the new record is officially ratified by the New York Open Water Swimming Association.

“The association’s president was on the boat and she was celebrating away too!” he said. “They often leave it until the end of the season and they go back and ratify all the swims that occurred that year.”

Mr Donaldson had been feeling slightly unwell in the lead-up to the swim, but pushed through the pain barrier with the help of New York’s iconic landmarks.

The course through the East River and Hudson River passes the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and the One World Trade Centre.

“I’ll be honest, this wasn’t an easy swim for me. 90 minutes in, I was struggling with heavy arms and the dreaded ‘claw hand’,” he added in a recap of the event. “I’d been feeling run down in the weeks leading up to the swim, and it certainly caught up with me out there.”

The swim, which began at 2am in the morning last Thursday, local time, and was one of the most technical swims he’s ever attempted.

He said the complex tides and currents around Manhattan could have lost him crucial minutes if he wasn’t in the right place at the right time.

“Chasing Oliver Wilkinson’s World Record, we knew everything had to go right. The tides and timing had to align perfectly, and thanks to the incredible preparation and the people around us, they did,” he said.

“First meal after the swim was a breakfast bagel... you know, experiencing the New York delicacies.”

Mr Donaldson last year broke the world record for the fastest swim across the Cook Strait by four minutes, completing the distance between New Zealand’s North and South Islands in four hours and 33 minutes.