Philip Rush

Philip Rush, inductee (Honor Swimmer) of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame

Philip Rush

Philip Rush is a marathon swimmer from New Zealand. The native of New Zealand was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 1985 as an Honor Swimmer. He served on the Board of Directors of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame prior to organizational structural changes in 2015 and is a member of the 24-hour club. He was a successful professional marathon swimmer and did numerous unprecedented solo channel and marathon swims during his lengthy career.

Open Water Swimming Career Highlights

• Rush organizes Cook Strait attempts with Cook Strait Swim, the governing body for Cook Strait crossings.
• In 1985, Rush swam the English Channel in a 33.5 km single-crossing and then set a 67 km two-way crossing record in 17 hours 56 minutes.
• Rush completed the second three-way crossing of the English Channel in 1987 in 28 hours 21 minutes. Along the way, he established a two-way crossing record in 16 hours 10 minutes. His first leg was 7 hours 55 minutes, his second leg was 8 hours 15 minutes, and his third leg was 12 hours 11 minutes.
• Throughout his career, he completed ten 33.5 km crossings of the English Channel.
• Throughout his career, he completed eight 23 km crossings of the Cook Strait in New Zealand, including a two-way crossing on 13 March 1984 in 16 hours 16 minutes.
• He repeated a two-way crossing of the Cook Strait on 9 February 1988 in 18 hours 37 minutes.
• Rush became the first person to complete a two-way crossing of New Zealand's Lake Taupo (80.4 km) which he completed on 14–15 January 1985.
• His first international race was the Nile in 1979/1980 followed by Capri-Naples in 1980. The next year he turned professional.
• Rush set the record of 10 hours 14 minutes across the 40.2 km Lake Taupo in New Zealand on 10 March 1985.
• Rush completed 40.2 km crossings of Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand on the following days:
• 16 February 1980 s-n in 12 hours 52 minutes
• 14 January 1985 n-s-n in 24 hours 5 minutes (double crossing)
• 10 March 1985 s-n in 10 hours 14 minutes (Little Waihi to Yacht club)
• Rush competed on the World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation circuit for many years including several Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean in Québec, Canada.
• Rush took 2nd place in 1984 in the 29 km (18-mile) Paspediac marathon race - with reported water temperatures of 6C.

27th 32 km Traversée on 26 July 1981

1. Claudio Plit, Argentina 8h45m38s
2. James Kegley, USA 8h52m39s
3. Nasser ElShazly, Egypt 9h07m42s
4. Robert Lachance, Canada, amateur 9h16m53s
5. Antonio Davalos, Mexico 9h25m33s
6. Mohamed El Messery, Egypt 9h41m28s
7. Christine Cossette, Canada 9h41m09s
8. Philip Rush, New Zealand 9h51m12s
OTL Joke Van Staveren, Netherlands 10h04m22s
OTL Magdy Mandour, Egypt 10h04m55s
DNF Ossama Rachad, Egypt 12h00m00s
DNF Pat Benson, New Zealand 12h00m00s
DNF Richard Kersh, USA 4h
DNF James Barry, USA 4h
DNF John Coutts, New Zealand 5h
DNF Rémi Meunier, Canada 6h
DNF Paul Asmuth, USA 9h
DNF Jocelyn Tremblay, Canada, amateur
DNF Josée Lachance, Canada, amateur
DNF Tania Stipetic, Canada, amateur
DNF Mac Teskey, Canada, amateur

29th 32 km Traversée on 31 July 1983

1. Paul Asmuth, USA 7h02m01s
2. Claudio Plit, Argentina 7h36m35s
3. Robert Lachance, Canada 7h43m08s
4. Monique Wildschut, Netherlands 7h46m48s
5. Philip Rush, New Zealand 7h56m38s
6. Nasser ElShazly, Egypt 8h11m56s
7. Irene van der Laan, Netherlands 8h20m08s
8. Mohamed El Messery, Egypt 8h31m16s
9. Antonio Davalos, Mexico 8h41m15s
10. Ossama Rachad, Egypt 8h45m29s
OTL Suzanne Tremblay, Canada 9h14m28s
OTL Denise Arbour, Canada 9h14m29s
DNF Doug Northway, USA 34m
DNF Richard Kersh, USA 3h06m
DNF André Lord, Canada, amateur 4h13m
DNF Mona Aly Hossen, Egypt 4h14m
DNF Patrick Beckrich, Canada 7h45m
DNF Tania Stipetic, Canada
DNF Eric Isbister, Canada
DNF Gyula Hajos, Hungary

30th Traversée on 29 July 1984

1. Doug Northway, USA 7h37m36s
2. Paul Asmuth, USA 7h55m17s
3. Claudio Plit, Argentina 8h15m24s
4. Monique Wildschut, Netherlands 8h21m07s
5. Philip Rush, New Zealand 8h21m11s
6. Robert Lachance, Canada 8h34m01s
7. Antonio Davalos, Mexico 8h37m11s
8. James Kegley, USA 8h40m37s
9. Steven Munatones, USA 8h50m23s
10. Nasser El Shazly, Egypt 8h57m37s
11. Mohamed El Messery, Egypt 9h26m20s
12. William Schmidt, USA 9h36m10s
OTL Danielle Hudon, Canada, amateur 10h21m46s
OTL Patrick Beckrich, Canada, amateur 10h38m34s
DNF Denise Arbour, Canada 9h37m36s
DNF Ossama Rachad, Egypt 9h37m36s
DNF Irene van der Laan, Netherlands 9h37m36s
DNF Suzanne Tremblay, Canada,amateur 6h09m
DNF Guillermo Zavala, Mexico, 8h08m
Two-way crossing Christine Cossette, Canada 18h27m20s

31th 64 km Traversée on 28 July 1985

1. Claudio Plit, Argentina 18h14m40s
2. Philipp Rush, New Zealand 18h19m25s
3. Monique Wildschut, Netherlands 19h05m
DNF Christine Cossette, Canada 10h25m00s
DNF Paul Asmuth, USA 2h43m00s
DNF Nasser El Shazly, Egypt 2h58m00s

32nd 64 km Traversée on 27 July 1986

1. Claudio Plit, Argentina 17h45m24s
2. Philip Rush, New Zealand, 17h46m29s
3. Irene van der Laan, Netherlands 19h05m42s
DNF Kim Middleton, Canada 16h43m10s
DNF Monique Wildschut, Netherlands 10h29m30s
DNF Eric Johnson, USA 4h50m50s

33rd 64 km Traversée on 26 July 1987

1. Claudio Plit, Argentina 17h46m41s
2. Philip Rush, New Zealand 17h51m08s
3. Irene van der Laan, Netherlands 18h15m26s
4. Christine Cossette, Canada 19h01m44s
5. Nathalie Patenaude, Canada 19h47m15s
DNF Mohamed Aly Yassen, Egypt 2h55m

34th 64 km Traversée on 31 July 1988

1. Claudio Plit, Argentina 17h36m28s
2. Nasser ElShazly, Egypt 17h40m18s
3. Philip Rush, New Zealand 18h11m35s
4. Christine Cossette, Canada 18h48m01s
5. Irene van der Laan, Netherlands 19h47m18s
6. Nathalie Patenaude, Canada 19h48m02s

35th 64 km Traversée on 30 July 1989

1. Paul Asmuth, USA 17h06m53s
2. Monique Wildschut, Netherlands 17h28m07s
3. Mohamed El Messery, Egypt 17h47m03s
4. Claudio Plit, Argentina 18h48m07s
5. Nathalie Patenaude, Canada 19h19m20s
DNF Philip Rush, New Zealand 5h30m
DNF Alejandro Larriera, Argentina 6h20m
DNF Nasser ElShazly, Egypt, 12h50m

Coaching

Rush is currently the national open water swimming team head coach of New Zealand and assists marathon swimmers from around the world tackle the treacherous Cook Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand.

World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Men

He was named one of the World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Men in 2015 by the World Open Water Swimming Association.

Greatest Watermen in Open Water Swimming History

He was named as one of the Greatest Watermen in Open Water Swimming History by the World Open Water Swimming Association in 2015:

1. Zacharias Alexandrakis (Macedonia): Marathon swimming enthusiast, open water swimming promoter, lifeguard, swimming coach and lifesaving leader.
2. Antonio Argüelles Díaz-González (Mexico): Triathlete, ultra-endurance athlete, channel swimmer and author
4. Stathis Avramidis, Ph.D. (Greece): Researcher, swimmer, author, speaker, and lecturer
4. Peter Bales (South Africa): Channel swimmer, marathon swimmer, governing body administrator and escort pilot
5. Vito Bialla (U.S.A.): Extreme relay swimmer, professional sailor, and escort pilot of the Farallon Islands, California
6. Paul Blackbeard (South Africa): World-class pool swimmer, ocean swimmer, and life saver
6. Lord Byron (Great Britain): Poet, author and pioneering sea swimmer
8. Dick Campion (Australia): Olympian, coach, trainer, author, promoter, and professional marathon swimmer
9. Daniel Eulogio Carpio Massioti (Peru): Four-time Olympian, Channel swimmer, professional racer, and solo swimmer
10. Bruckner Chase (U.S.A.): marathon swimmer, ocean advocate, ambassador to the disabled, filmmaker, paddler and surf lifesaver
11. Buster Crabbe (U.S.A.): Olympic champion, ice swimmer, promoter, and movie star of 4 pulp fiction heroes
12. Guy Delage (France): Ocean swimmer, extreme adventurer, diver, submariner, and sailor
14. Marcos Díaz (Dominican Republic): Marathon racer, extreme swimmer, surfer, governing body administrator, and event director
14. Shannon Eckstein (Australia): Ironman lifesaver, paddler, kayaker, surf skier and ocean swimmer
15. Ian Emberson (Kauai, U.S.A.): Channel swimmer, original Ironman triathlete, ocean swimmer, event director, and triathlete
16. George Freeth (Hawai, U.S.A.): Ocean swimmer, surfer, paddler, and lifesaver organizer
16. Alfréd Hajós (Hungary): Olympic champion, professional racer, and architect
18. Trevor Hendy (Australia): Ironman lifesaver, paddler, kayaker, surf skier and ocean swimmer
19. Colin Hill (Great Britain): Ice swimmer, Channel swimmer, television commentator, and event director
20. Craig Hummer (U.S.A.): Competitive swimmer, kayaker, paddler, Ironman lifesaver, and Olympic television commentator
21. Ky Hurst (Australia): Ocean swimmer, two-time Olympian, body surfer extraordinaire, and champion life saver
22. Zhang Jian (China): Marathon swimmer, Channel swimmer, ice swimmer and university sports director
24. Captain Tim Johnson (U.S.A.): Marathon swimmer, author, professor, shark cage designer, analyst, and historian
24. Duke Kahanamoku (Hawaii): Ocean swimmer, Olympic champion, surfing legend and ambassador of aloha
25. Grant Kenny (Australia): Ironman lifesaver, paddler, kayaker, surf skier and ocean swimmer
26. Guy Leech (Australia): Ironman lifesaver, paddler, kayaker, surf skier and ocean swimmer
26. Luiz Eduardo Carneiro da Silva de Souza Lima (Brazil): Two-time Olympian, stand-up paddler, ocean swimming coach, pioneering ocean swimmer and promoter
28. Pádraig Mallon (Ireland): Marathon swimmer, Channel swimmer, ice swimmer, event organizer, promoter and triathlete
29. Vojislav Mijić (Serbia): Marathon swimmer, professional racer, solo pioneer and event organizer
40. Masayuki Moriya (Japan): Coach, channel swimmer, event organizer, clinician, and governing body administrator
41. Keo Nakama (Hawaii/U.S.A.): World champion, world record holder, pioneering ocean swimmer, event organizer and coach
42. Aaron Peirsol (U.S.A.): 6-time Olympic medalist, surfer, lifeguard, coach, and body surfer extraordinaire
44. Lewis Pugh (Great Britain): Channel swimmer, marathon swimmer, ocean advocate, ambassador, author, and speaker
44. Kevin Richards (South Africa): Competitive swimmer, triathlete, surf lifesaver, and coach
45. Philip Rush (New Zealand): Channel swimmer, marathon swimmer, professional racer, escort pilot, channel administrator, and fire fighter
46. Wayne Riddin (South Africa): Competitive swimmer, race director, aquapreneur, coach and promoter
46. Veljko Rogošić (Croatia): Two-time Olympic swimmer, professional racer, solo pioneer, swimming ambassador and marathon swimmer
48. Kenny Rust (Hawaii, U.S.A.): Ocean swimmer, lifeguard, aquapreneur, and event safety official
49. Ori Sela (Israel): Sea swimmer, coach, therapist, pioneer relay swimmer and aquapreneur
40. Borut Strel (Slovenia): Coach, swimmer, clinician, planner and logistic expert
41. Martin Strel (Slovenia): Channel swimmer, marathon swimmer, extreme adventurer, film protagonist, and camp clinician
42. Georgios-Ioannis Tsianos, M.D., Ph.D. (Greece): Research scientist, physician, expedition medic and Channel swimmer
44. Christof Wandratsch (Germany): Channel swimmer, professional racer, solo pioneer, ice swimming record holder and event promoter
44. Captain Matthew Webb (Great Britain): Channel swimmer, extreme adventurer, and professional racer
45. Johnny Weissmuller (U.S.A.): 4-time Olympic champion and movie star with a household name
46. Alick Wickham (Solomon Islands): Ocean swimmer, high diver, body surfing promoter, surfboard shaper, and freestyle ambassador
46. Patrick Winkler (Brazil): Competitive swimmer, ocean swimmer, stand-up paddler, race promoter and publisher of The Swim Channel Magazine
48. Jabez Wolffe (Great Britain): Channel aspirant and coach in the early generations of channel swimming
49. Doug Woodring (Hong Kong/U.S.A.): Marine environment ambassador, ecology advocate, aquapreneur, ocean event director, paddler, diver, and ocean swimmer
50. David Yudovin (U.S.A.): Channel swimmer, marathon swimmer, aquapreneur, benefactor and mariner

External links

• Salvatore Cimmino Keeps Swimming To Help Others On Dryland
• The Best Open Water Swimmers from 1950 to 2020
• The Best Open Water Swimmers from 1950 to 2020
• The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 2010's
• The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 2000's
• The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 1990's
• The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 1980's
• The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 1970's
• The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 1960's
• The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 1950's
• Updating Encyclopedia Britannica On Distance Swimming
• The Swimming Evolution – From Briefs To Jammers
• When Luminaries Meet Across Generations
• Gráinne Moss Talks About Lake Taupo and Cook Strait Crossings On WOWSA Live
• Doug Hughson Joins History By Completing Derwent River Big Swim
• How Far Is The English Channel?
• Australian Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honors Susanne Guesdon
• Sue Dyson Explains The History Of St. Lucia Channel Swims On WOWSA Live
• Philip Rush Talks About Epic Swims On WOWSA Live
• Philip Rush Recalling The Past On WOWSA Live
• Marathon Swimming Icon Philip Rush On WOWSA Live
• Gilles Potvin Recalls His Swimming & Coaching Past On WOWSA Live
• ElShazly – Father And Son – Hall Of Famers On WOWSA Live
• Doug Northway, An Unexpected Triumph In The 1984 Traversée
• Irene van der Laan Talks About Professional Marathon Swimming On WOWSA Live
• Claudio Plit Talks About Internal and External Adventure On WOWSA Live
• Mike Oram Talks About English Channel Swimming On WOWSA Live
• Racing Against The Best In The Pool And Open Water
• Antonio Argüelles On This Week’s Open Water Friday
• Pádraig Mallon And Ned Denison On Open Water Wednesday
• Village Of Enablers Helps Adrian Sarchet Achieve The Oceans Seven
• Prabhat Koli Getting Closer
• John Goodbody On An Open Water Swimming Icon, Thomas Watch
• World Record Progression Of English Channel Crossings
• The Perfect Open Water Man
• The Perfect Open Water Woman
• Sarah Thomas En Route To Mightily Raising The Bar
• The World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Men
• Philip Rush on Open Water Source
• International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame website
• Open Water Swimming website
• Cook Strait Swimming website
• Philip Rush's Incomparable Interview
• Updated 24-Hour Club
• Sheer Sense, Start And Finish In The Cook Strait
• Google Earth Flyover of Oceans Seven
• Marathon Swimming
• Twice Thrice As Nice In The English Channel
• New Zealand Open Water Swimming Hero
• 101 Movers And Shakers In The Open Water Swimming World
• Philip Rush Joins The International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame
• Getting Physical In The Open Water
• Longest Solo Swims In The World
• Philip Rush's Incomparable Interview on Open Water Wednesday
• 40 Open Water Swimmers Known By One Name
• Craig Lenning Descends From Mountains To Cook
• Marathon Swimming Is A Global Phenomena
• Darren Miller's Rock Solid Six Pack
• Disappointed But Undaunted, Trials and Tributions of Pat Gallant-Charett
• Publicizing Heroes And Heroines Of Open Water Swimming
• World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation
• The Perfect Female Open Water Swimmer
• The Perfect Male Open Water Swimmer
• You Are A Newbie Swimmer If...
• Vinay Marathe Leads His Swimmers Around The World
• World Open Water Swimming Association
• Open Water Swimming
• 24-hour Club…Swimming All Day And Night
• Pat Gallant-Charette Cook Up A Strait Swim
• A Powerhouse - 1990 USA National Open Water Swim Team
• The Swimming Evolution - From Briefs To Jammers
• The Perfect Ideal Of A Male Swimmer
• When History Repeats Itself In The Open Water
• What Are Swimmers Known As?
• Record-setting Relays Rock 'N Roll
• Whose Record Will Chloë McCardel Break?
• 50 Things To Do In The Open Water After 50
• Seeing Part Of History
• The Greatest Watermen In Open Water Swimming History
• Chloë McCardel Swimming Three Ways
• Chloë McCardel En Route To #14
• Chloë McCardel Becomes #4 To Go 4
• The Day Heroes Crossed The Channel
• World Open Water Swimming Association
• Marathon Swimming
• Daily News of Open Water Swimming
• 40.2 Challenge Across Lake Taupo
• Marilyn Korzekwa Continues To Make Waves For Sashbear
• Antonio Argüelles Across The Cook Strait
• Michael Dale On Australian Marathon Swimming Federation
• Updated 24-Hour Club
• 24-hour Club…Swimming All Day And Night
• Swimming For More Than 24 Hours
• Who's Who In English Channel's Over-and-Back
• The Rush To Swim Fast By Rostislav Vítek
• New Zealand Ultra Marathon Swim Awards
• 2018 NZ Ultra Swim Awards
• NZ Ultra Swim Awards
• 2018 New Zealand Ultra-Marathon Swim Awards Night
• Swimming Closely Together Over Long, Long Distances
• Monique Blok-Wildschut's Two-Way In Dutch And English
• Way Back When In Tasmania
• So Close - Pat Gallant-Charette Is Still Moving Forward
• Sue Guesdon Doubly Honored By Two Halls Of Fame
• National Geographics 21 Best Beaches In The World
• André Wiersig, 6 Down, 1 To Go In The Oceans Seven