 Photo: Ruth Mariñosa, Samuel Muir-James, Jessica Campbell, Melissa Donaldson at the start of the swim at Mulifanua, Upolu – Samoa Events On August 7th, four swimmers Ruth Mariñosa, Samuel Muir-James, Jessica Campbell and Melissa Donaldson successfully completed the crossing of Apolima Strait in Sāmoa. It is the first time in four years the swim has been completed. The Strait is a 22.3 km stretch of water between the islands of Upolu and Savai’i. Mariñosa and Muir-James attempted the crossing a few months earlier in May which was abandoned due to heavy seas. Mariñosa, a Spanish national living in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand was the first to cross the finish line at Sālelologa, Savai’i. Muir-James now adds Apolima Strait to his other ultra swim achievements, Cook Strait and Lake Taupō in Aotearoa, NZ. His next goal is to swim Foveaux Strait to complete the NZ Triple Crown. Jessica Campbell from Leigh in New Zealand had a great swim. She is the fourth UK national to swim Apolima Strait. Melissa Donaldson was guided by marathon swim Master Coach Tracey Baumann on the kayak. Husband Geoff was also on the paddle assisting with the transfer of nutrition from the support boat to Melissa. Donaldson is a director and coach at At One Swimming in Brisbane Australia. On the day of the swim, weather conditions got better as the swim progressed. Rolling seas on the entrance to Sālelologa harbour made the final approach interesting for supporting vessels that included the Sāmoa Maritime Police Nāfanua rescue boat with Police divers onboard. Mariñosa, Muir-James, Campbell and Donaldson are the 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th swimmers to swim Upolu to Savai’i. The next Apolima Strait is Wednesday 1st May 2024. Entries are now open. There is also a four-person teams’ relay on Saturday 3rd August at the end of the Sāmoa Swim Series 2024. END Article by Seti Afoa
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