Juan (Johnny) José Cortiñas

Juan (Johnny) José Cortiñas (born 10 June 1915, died 1959 in a Cuban prison) is an open water swimmer from Cuba who was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 1967 as an Honour Swimmer after completing two Oceans Seven channels.

Open Water Swimming Career

Cortiñas completed a 28 hour 55 minute crossing of the 32.3 km Catalina Channel on 30 August 1952 from Catalina Island to the California mainland to join the 24-hour club
Cortiñas completed a 32 hour 10 minute crossing of the 32.3 km Catalina Channel on 2 October 1953 from the California mainland to Catalina Channel
Cortiñas completed a 10 hour 45 minute crossing of the 14.4 km Strait of Gibraltar on 21 September 1948 starting from Almansa
Cortiñas failed in two attempts of the 33.5 km English Channel in 1949.
Cortiñas attempted to swim from the Farallon Islands to the California mainland in 1956, but retired after 6 miles of swimming in the Pacific Ocean
Cortiñas attempted to swim across Lake Tahoe in 1952, but had to retired
Cortiñas competed in a race across Lake Tahoe on 28 August 1955 against Fred Rogers, but had to be pulled from the water again at the age of 39
Cortiñas swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco in 1 hour 14 minutes — handcuffed and with his legs bound.
Cortiñas attempted a relay crossing of the Florida Strait between Cuba and Florida (USA) together with fellow Cuban marathon swimmers Leo Vigil, Rolando Elejalde and Luciana Nunez from Bahia Honda in Cuba to Key West, Florida to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Cuban flag on 1 July 1950 in an example of Speedo diplomacy.