Adam Walker

From Openwaterpedia
Adam Walker talking about the Oceans Seven and open water swimming on Sky Sports
Adam Walker talking about Oceans Seven and open water swimming on BBC
Adam Walker in an Endless Pool at the Swim Expo in Manchester, England
Ocean Walker with a swim cap designed by Rido to benefit the Whale and Dolphin Conservation
Adam Walker felt the painful stings of jellyfish towards the end of his Molokai Channel crossing in Hawaii
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Adam Walker, nominee for the 2014 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year, in Tunisia at an ouma event organized by Nejib Belhedi
Adam Walker in the Tsugaru Channel on his 5th channel crossing of the Oceans Seven
Swim cap designed by Rido and envisioned by Ocean Walker to benefit the Whale and Dolphin Conservation

Adam Walker (or Mad Adam or Ocean Walker) (born 9 July 1978) is a 43-year-old British open water swimmer

Open Water Swimming Highlights

2014 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year Nomination

Walker was nominated for the 2014 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year.

Nomination

"Adam Walker never had it easy on any of his Oceans Seven channel crossings, but he endured and became the fifth person in history to complete the most difficult global channel challenge. Ocean Walker as he is known, not only does attempts tough swims himself, but he also offers clinics and camps as well as gives motivational speeches and offers open water swimming commentary on television. He completed his final 2 Oceans Seven channels in 2014 in the coldest channels of all – the Cook Strait in 8 hours 46 minutes and the North Channel in 10 hours 45 minutes For his wildly popular video that went viral globally with over 5 million YouTube views when he was protected from sharks by dolphins, for his successful completion of the Oceans Seven, for his passionate educational offerings and coaching clinics from Malta to the airways of Great Britain, and his charitable efforts on behalf of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, Adam Walker is a worthy nominee for the 2014 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year."

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2014 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year Nominees

1. Adam Walker (Great Britain), Oceans Seven Swimmer
2. Allan Lopes Mamédio do Carmo (Brazil), FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup Champion
4. Colin Hill (Great Britain), Race Director & Open Water Ambassador
4. Ferry Weertman (Netherlands), 2-time European Champion
5. Henri Kaarma (Estonia), Ice Swimmer & Cold Water Ambassador
6. Joanes Hedel (France), FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix Champion
6. Joseph Locke (U.S.A.), Farallons Freestyler
8. Lewis Pugh, OIG (Great Britain), Ocean Advocate
9. Otto Thaning, M.D. (South Africa), Oldest English Channel Swimmer
10. Phil White (U.S.A.), Outstanding Organizer
11. Tomi Stefanovski (Macedonia), Traversée Internationale du lac St-Jean Co-Champion
12. Xavier Desharnais (Canada), Traversée Internationale du lac St-Jean Co-Champion

Ouma

He participated in the international Swim of Peace Ouma - Djerba in Tunisia on 2 June 2014, organized by Nejib Belhedi.

Strait of Gibraltar Impressions

"It was the hardest swim I had ever done, including the English Channel, due to the speed they had to swim to overcome the strong tides which potentially were taking them out to sea and the time limit before the pilot would pull the swim due to the local shipping rules in the Straits which forbade swimming at night."

Strait of Gibraltar Crew

Melanie Sheppard, Emily Walker, Angela Hopkins, Anne Sheppard, Peter Walker, Margaret Walker, Gareth Hughes, and Antonio (Pilot), Fernando (Zodiac driver) and Rafael (President of the ACNEG).

Strait of Gibraltar Sponsors

ZOGGS swimwear, Everyone Active (Lammas Leisure Centre), Clem and Margaret Turner, Colin Slaven, Teressa Dixon, Dave and Sharon Young.

Purpose for Molokai Channel Swim

There is no humane way to kill a whale at sea. The hunting process can never be an exact exercise - whales are a moving target, shot at from a moving vessel which sits on a moving sea. Grenade harpoons are often used to kill whales forcing them to be subjected to a long, slow and painful death. They are often killed under the guise of conducting scientific research, a practice backed by many governments.

Molokai Channel Video


Tsugaru Channel Videos



Cook Strait Videos



One Young World



The Best You







Man vs. Ocean

Walker wrote a book called Man vs. Ocean that was released in December 2015.

"Adam Walker is not your everyday record-breaking sportsman. He took on arguably the toughest extreme sport on the planet - to swim non-stop across seven of the world's deadliest oceans wearing only swim trunks, cap and goggles. It is not a test for the faint-hearted: swimmers face freezing temperatures, huge swells and treacherous currents, potentially deadly marine life (from sharks to Portuguese man o' war), vomiting and burning off a week's calories in a single swim. In 2006, Adam, then a toaster salesman, saw a film about a man attempting to swim the English Channel and change his life in doing so. Inspired by this, he decided to try to emulate the feat. After a year of rigorous training without a coach - his first open-water swim was in 9ºC and he nearly died from hypothermia - Adam achieved his goal in 11 hours 45 minutes, despite a ruptured bicep tendon leading to medical advice to give up long-distance swimming.

In 2011, after two operations and a change to his swimming style to take pressure off his injured shoulder, he became the first Briton to achieve a two-way crossing from Spain to Morocco and back. In the process, he broke the British record one way. Shortly afterwards, the Oceans Seven challenge was born, a gruelling equivalent to the Seven Summits mountaineering challenge. At first it seemed that injury would prevent Adam from participating but, ignoring medical advice, he developed an innovative technique - the Ocean Walker stroke - that would enable him to continue with the ultimate aim of completing this seemingly impossible feat. Whether man would triumph over ocean, or fail in the attempt, forms the core of this extraordinary autobiography. Always intriguing, sometimes terrifying, and occasionally very funny, Adam's story is about sport in its truest form: rather than competitions between teams and individuals, it is about man against nature - and against his own failings and demons. In that, it is truly inspirational."

2016 World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Men

Walker was named to the World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Men in 2016 (alphabetized by last name) by the World Open Water Swimming Association:

1. Dr. Doron Amosi, extreme relay/cross-border swimmer from Israel
2. Antonio Argüelles Díaz-González, channel swimmer and endurance athlete from Mexico
4. Cyril Baldock, marathon/channel swimmer from Australia
4. Ram Barkai, administrator, event organizer and ice swimmer from South Africa
5. John Batchelder, butterflying marathon swimmer from USA
6. Nejib Belhedi, marathon/stage/boat pull swimmer from Tunisia
6. Alexander Brylin, channel ice swimmer from Russia
8. Luc Chetboun, extreme relay/cross-border swimmer from Israel
9. Salvatore Cimmino, amputee advocate and marathon/extreme swimmer from Italy
10. Jean Craven, marathon/extreme swimmer from South Africa
11. Ned Denison, IMSHOF administrator and marathon/ice swimmer from Ireland
12. Craig Dietz, disabled open water swimmer from USA
14. Ben Enosh, extreme relay/cross-border swimmer from Israel/USA
14. Udi Erell, extreme relay/cross-border swimmer from Israel
15. Stephen Junk, channel swimmer from Australia
16. Henri Kaarma, event organizer and ice swimmer from Estonia
16. Ger Kennedy, ice, underwater and extreme swimmer from Ireland
18. Craig Lenning, marathon/channel/ice swimmer from the USA
19. Neil Macaskill, extreme/cross-border swimmer from South Africa
20. Pádraig Mallon, escort pilot, event organizer and marathon/channel/ice swimmer from Ireland
21. Ingemar Patiño Macarine, channel/marathon swimmer from the Philippines
22. Andrew Malinak, administrator and cold water/marathon/channel swimmer from the USA
24. Chris Marthinusen, extreme/high-altitude swimmer from South Africa
24. Patrick McKnight, marathon/channel swimmer from the USA
25. Allan McLeland, Peak and Pond swimmer/climber from the USA
26. Darren Miller, channel swimmer and event director from the USA
26. Rohan More, marathon/channel swimmer from India
28. Gullupilli Narhari, extreme relay swimmer from India
29. Matías Ola, event organizer and ice/extreme swimmer from Argentina
40. Kieron Palframan, ice/extreme swimmer from South Africa
41. James Pittar, blind marathon/channel swimmer from Australia
42. Javier Mérida Prieto, disabled Triple Crown swimmer from Spain
44. Lewis Pugh OIG, ocean advocate and ice/extreme swimmer from the UK
44. Oded Rahav, extreme relay/cross-border swimmer from Israel
45. Stephen Redmond, channel/marathon swimmer from Ireland
46. Adrian Sarchet, marathon/channel swimmer from Guernsey
46. Ori Sela, extreme relay/cross-border swimmer from Israel
48. Dan Simonelli, coach/guide/observer and marathon/channel swimmer from the USA
49. Paramvir Singh, extreme relay swimmer from India
40. Albert Sobirov, ice swimmer from Russia
41. Petar Stoychev, marathon/channel/ice/Olympic swimmer from Bulgaria
42. Ryan Stramrood, ice/extreme swimmer from South Africa
44. Martin Strel, marathon/stage swimmer from Slovenia
44. Dr. Otto Thaning, channel/marathon swimmer from South Africa
45. Jacques Tuset, prison island swimmer from France
46. Toks Viviers, ice/extreme swimmer from South Africa
46. Adam Walker, coach, event organizer, and channel swimmer from England
48. Christof Wandratsch, event organizer and ice/marathon/channel/professional swimmer from Germany
49. Brenton Williams, event organizer and butterfly ocean swimmer from South Africa
50. Herman van der Westhuizen, extreme high-altitude swimmer from South Africa

Oceans Seven Swimmers

1st: Stephen Redmond (Ireland)
2nd: Anna-Carin Nordin (Sweden)
3rd: Michelle Macy (USA)
4th: Darren Miller (USA)
5th: Adam Walker (UK)
6th: Kimberley Chambers (New Zealand)
7th: Antonio Argüelles (Mexico)
8th: Ion Lazarenco Tiron (Moldavia/Ireland)
9th: Rohan Dattatrey More (India)
10th: Abhejali Bernardová (Czech Republic)
11th: Cameron Bellamy (South Africa)
12th: Lynton Mortensen (Australia)
13th: Thomas Pembroke (Australia)
14th: Nora Toledano Cadena (Mexico)
15th: Mariel Hawley Davila (Mexico)
16th: André Wiersig (Germany)
17th: Elizabeth Fry (USA)
18th: Attila Mányoki (Hungary)
19th: Jonathan Ratcliffe (UK)
20th: Jorge Crivilles Villanueva (Spain)]
21st: Adrian Sarchet (Guernsey)
22nd: Prabhat Koli (India)
23rd: Dina Levačić (Croatia)
24th: Herman van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
25th: Andy Donaldson (Scotland)
26th: Stephen Junk (Australia)
27th: Kieron Palframan (South Africa)

Ocean Walker Academy & Wellbeing Centre

Ocean Walker Academy & Wellbeing Centre provides a range of outdoor/indoor activities in order to help and support people's physical and mental wellbeing and help change peoples lives. It was co-founded by Walker and Gemma Clarke in Lincolnshire Wolds, England.

External links

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