
Phil Rush on his record-breaking swims and coaching the next generations
About this episode
What a privilege to spend an hour talking to Phil Rush, a coaching and swimming legend. Here are just some of his open water swim achievements:
- Record holder for the fastest double and triple English Channel crossings (his triple crossing was 28h 21m, 140km, in 1987)
- Record holder for the fastest double Cook Strait crossings (only one other person has achieved a double)
- The first person to complete a double crossing of Lake Taupō (in 1985)
- 10 English Channel crossings and 8 Cook Strait crossings
In this episode we talk about how endurance swimming has changed over the years, the importance of mental as well as physical training, monitoring swimmers for hypothermia, working as a team to help people achieve their swim goals, how he swam for more than 24 hours, that crucial final stage of a marathon swim, the buzz of getting swimmers to the other side, and much more.
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