Edie Hu
From Openwaterpedia
Edie Hu upon becoming the first woman to complete a 65 km circumnavigation swim around Lantau Island in Hong Kong
Brett Kruse, Edie Hu, and Simon Holliday after their 65 km circumnavigation swim around Lantau Island in Hong Kong on 21 November 2025
Edie Hu at the 15 km Cold Half Extreme Marathon Swim on Hong Kong Island
Edie Hu is a 50-year-old American open water swimmer from California living in Hong Kong. She was a competitive swimmer at Wellesley College who founded its water polo team.
Open Water Swimming Highlights
- On 20 November 2025, she became the first woman and second overall to swim 65 km around Lantau Island in an unprecedented tandem swim with Simon Holliday and Brett Kruse. Her support crew included escort pilot Carl Wilkinson, first mate Tim Bruce, second mate John Seddon, escort kayakers Roy Cheung, Klaus Wu, and Ricky Law, and safety boat pilot Kent Tam and crew member Kevin, chief feeder Gabrielle Little, feeder and observer Madison Feldman, chief observer Hal Stuart, navigator Cameron Ferguson, and videographers Flora Bradley-Watson, Maggie Dou, and Shana Kruse.
- On 7 November 2025, she became the first woman to complete a 45 km crossing of the Molokai Channel from Sandy Beach on Oahu to Molokai Island, finishing in 16 hours 9 minutes at the age of 50.
- She was the first woman to complete the 15 km Cold Half Extreme Marathon Swim from Stanley Main Beach to Deep Water Bay Beach in Hong Kong in 2016. She completed it again in 4 February 2018 in 5 hours 13 minutes, on 26 January 2019 in 4 hours 48 minutes, on 19 January 2020 in 4 hours 12 minutes, on 21 February 2021 in 3 hours 59 minutes winning the women's division, on 15 January 2023 in 4 hours 28 minutes, and on 4 February 2024 in 4 hours 9 minutes.
- On October 2015, she completed the Clean Half Extreme Marathon Swim from Stanley Main Beach to Deep Water Bay Beach in Hong Kong in 5 hours 25 minutes, on 8 October 2016 in 4 hours 43 minutes, on 7 October 2017 in 6 hours 44 minutes winning the women's division, on 5 October 2019 in 5 hours 3 minutes.
- On 24 February 2018, she completed the 19.7 km Rottnest Channel Swim from Cottesloe Beach to Rottnest Island in Western Australia in 6 hours 29 minutes, on 23 February 2019 in 7 hours 24 minutes, and on 22 February 2025 in 7 hours 40 minutes at the age of 50.
- On 3 November 2018, she completed the 45 km HK360 Swim around Hong Kong in 12 hours 37 minutes to become the third person in history to complete a circumnavigation swim around Hong Kong Island, setting the female record.
- She was named one of the World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Women in 2019 by the World Open Water Swimming Association.
- She attempted a 19.5 km crossing of the Tsugaru Channel in northern Japan in a tandem swim with Dean Summers, but abandoned the swim from Honshu to Hokkaido after 11 hours 33 minutes on 11 September 2019 at the age of 44 years.
- She completed a 29 km crossing of the Palk Strait near Adam's Bridge between Sri Lanka and India in 10 hours 18 minutes on 26 February 2020 in a tandem swim with Andy Moss.
- On 15 January 2023, she finished 2nd in the women's category of the 15 km Cold Half Extreme Marathon Swim in Hong Kong Island.
- She completed the 14 km ʻAuʻau Channel from the island of Lanai to Maui in 2015.
- On 29 July 2021, she completed a 34.2 km crossing of Lake Tahoe from Camp Richardson to Incline Village in 12 hours 31 minutes.
- On 4 August 2022, she completed a 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel from England to France in 12 hours 36 minutes at the age of 47.
- On 14 August 2022, she completed a 45.9 km 20 Bridges Swim around Manhattan Island in New York City in 8 hours 16 minutes at the age of 47.
- On 11 September 2023, she completed a 32.3 km crossing of the Catalina Channel from Santa Catalina Island to the Palos Verdes Peninsula in [[Southern California in 14 hours 33 minutes at the age of 48.
- On 15 October 2023, she crossed the 14.4 km Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco in 6 hours 2 minutes at the age of 48.
- On 7 November 2025, she completed a 45 km crossing of the Molokai Channel from Sandy Beach on Oahu to Molokai Island in Hawaii in 16 hours 9 minutes at the age of 50.
Oahu-to-Molokai Crossings
- Harry Huffaker, 32 at time of crossing, USA in 1972 in 16 hours 15 minutes
- Forrest Nelson, 40 at time of crossing, USA in 2006 in 16 hours 36 minutes
- Graco Morlan, 49 at time of crossing, Mexico in 2024 in 15 hours 33 minutes.
- Paul Leonard, 52, Great Britain in 2025 in 13 hours 50 minutes
- Bogusław Ogrodnik, 60, Poland in 2025 in 21 hours 59 minutes
- Edie Hu, 50, USA in 2025 in 16 hours 9 minutes
- Loren King, 57, Canada in 2026 in 13 hours 18 minutes
External links
- Waris Mills Cruises To A New HK360 Record Around Hong Kong
- Edie Hu's Battle Scars After Adventure Around Lantau Island
- Edie Hu, Simon Holliday, Brett Kruse Adventure Around Lantau Island
- Edie Hu, Simon Holliday, Brett Kruse Aim to Becomes First to Swim Around Lantau Island
- Edie Hu Becomes First Woman to Cross from Oahu To Molokai
- Marathon Swimmers Federation bio
- Leslie Hamilton, Circumnavigation Swimming Expert, Circling Hong Kong For A Record
- Cold Half Extreme Marathon Swim Is Next Week
- Water For Wellbeing Team Raises Money & Awareness While Swimming Around Hong Kong
- Edie Hu And Andy Moss Cross The Palk Strait
- 2020 Cold Half And Cold Plunge In Hong Kong
- Edie Hu Makes A Big Splash Around Hong Kong Island
- 3 For 30 Across Adam’s Bridge In The Palk Strait
- Swimming The Palk Strait
- Marathoning With Masyuki Moriya
- Alex Fong Lik-sun Sets Record Around Hong Kong
- How to Swim Around Hong Kong Island, Ocean Swimming Reborn
- Open Water Swimming
- Swimming Around Hong Kong Island
- Julie Newton, Marco Murari Swim Fast Around The Cold Half
- Cold Half Extreme Marathon Swim
- World Open Water Swimming Association
- Daily News of Open Water Swimming
- Top 50 Open Water Swims in Asia
- Environmentally-friendly Open Water Relays
- Clean Half Welcomes YakSwimmers
- Splash Foundation
- Making A Splash In The HK360 Swim
- 2019 World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Women
- Julie Newton Wins Overall Cold Half
