28 Miles, 20 Bridges, 2 Nights, One Medal
The Full Manhattan Swim Story
Circumnavigating the iconic skyline of New York City, the 20 Bridges Swim (historically known as the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim) is one of the premier open-water challenges in the world. Spanning a massive 28.5 miles (45.9 kilometers), this marathon requires navigating the tidal waters of three distinct rivers: the East, the Harlem, and the Hudson. While a continuous swim relies on catching a single, perfect tidal sequence, completing this as an unexpected split swim in July 2026 introduced a whole new level of physical and mental torture. By breaking the circumnavigation into two distinct stages, I lost the luxury of continuous momentum. The forced split caused by a closed bridge forced me to battle a brand-new set of challenges, and then find the mental grit to dive back in and sprint against a completely different river the next day.
Read my full, firsthand account below of how we navigated the complex river logistics, battled the stiffening transitions of the split swim, and pushed under all 20 historic bridges to wrap a successful loop around Manhattan.
When you train for a marathon swim, you prepare for the biting cold, the brutal currents, the mental dark places, and the sheer physical exhaustion. You do not, however, prepare for a 111 year old railroad swing bridge to fail to open and physically lock you out of the final stretch of your journey.
If open water swimming teaches you anything, it is that the water always dictates the terms, and resilience is the only currency that matters.
Here is the full story of how a 28 mile dream around Manhattan Island became one of the most unforgettable tests of my life.
Part 1: The New York Night, Tides, and Tension:
On Saturday 11th July 2026, at exactly 4:43 PM local time (9:43 PM back home in the UK), I dove into the water at Pier A to begin the 20 Bridges Swim. Marathon swimming at this level is a game of hyper-precise maths. Every single stage has to be meticulously planned around the relentless New York tides. Dropping your pace even a fraction can throw the entire project out, because you absolutely must hit key milestones at key times to catch the tidal gates.
Passing the iconic Brooklyn Bridge at 27 minutes in and the Manhattan Bridge just five minutes later, the adrenaline was surging. Swimming through the East River, you are acutely aware of the sheer scale of the environment. This isn’t just a physical test, it is a complex navigation matrix. We had to weave through moving fields of massive container barges, dodge heavy commercial ferries, and stay clear of unpredictable jet skis. This chaos is exactly why my kayaker stayed glued to my side throughout, carving out a safe path through the traffic.
To fuel this engine, every single hour on the dot, I fed exclusively on a precise mix of carbohydrate powder and electrolytes dissolved in water, swallowed quickly while treading water.
By the time I reached the Harlem River, the city felt incredibly close. The pounding music from the streets of New York echoed across the water, but the absolute highlight was swimming right past Yankee Stadium. Jay-Z was performing a massive anniversary concert, and hearing that booming, unmistakable bass pulsing across the water into the New York night was an utterly surreal, special moment that kept me thoroughly rhythmic through my strokes.
Everything was running precisely on schedule. We cleared the Wards Island Bridge at 2 hours 26 minutes and flew past the RFK, Third Ave, and Madison Ave bridges. By 10:28 PM, we hit the 15.6 mile mark and cleared the Henry Hudson Bridge, well over the length of Manhattan. Then, at 10:32 PM, we hit a literal wall.
Bridge number 18, the Spuyten Duyvil Bridge, was undergoing emergency maintenance. It is a massive swing bridge that was completely closed and locked shut, presenting a solid metal wall across the river that the boats simply could not pass. The rules of marathon swimming are absolute: if your support boat cannot pass with you, the swim must stop. Just like that, because of a failure completely out of our control, our swim was called.
Sitting in the boat, wrapped in blankets and watching the city lights, the disappointment was heavy. We had poured months of sacrifice into this. To be stopped by a closed bridge felt incredibly cruel.
Part 2: The Mental Battle & The Midnight Resurrection:
The 24 hours that followed were a grueling mental rollercoaster. When you are pulled from a swim like that, the psychological crash is immense. Your body is screaming with exhaustion, but your mind is consumed by the anxiety of what could have been. You find yourself waiting in limbo, physically depleted but completely unable to switch off.
But marathon swimming is a solitary sport that is never achieved alone. The global open water community is bound by a rare kind of empathy. Recognizing the sheer unfairness of the closure, New York Open Water made an unprecedented decision. They offered me a lifeline: the chance to jump back into the water the very next night, pick up exactly where I was stopped on the other side of the bridge, and finish the loop.
Because of the split across two nights, this swim won’t go into the official marathon swimming record books, but that’s not too important for me. I did this for the personal achievement and the mental satisfaction of conquering the challenge.
Suddenly, I was dropped into a cohort of four world class international marathon swimmers taking on their own epic journeys, including two from the USA, one from the Netherlands, and one from Lithuania.
At midnight on Sunday, dragging my profoundly tired body back to the riverbank, the anxiety returned. Staring into that dark water, knowing I had to switch my mind back into combat mode after already giving everything the night before, was one of the hardest things I have ever done.
This second leg was a completely different beast. To complete the circuit, I had to swim the entire remaining West Side of Manhattan down the Hudson River. This stretch holds the absolute fastest, heaviest, and most powerful currents of the entire swim. Swimming in the pitch black next to the glowing, vertical landscape of the New York skyline is a deeply spiritual experience, provided you actively block out the nagging thoughts of what sharks might be cruising beneath your feet in the dark!
Being surrounded by other international swimmers meant I couldn’t slacken off for a second and that was hard as I did not want to affect their swims. I had to stabalise my pace to hold their line through the fast flowing currents, but looking up to see bridge number 20, the majestic George Washington Bridge, lit up in all its absolute splendour against the night sky as I swam beneath it, made every single agonizing stroke worth it.
We dug deeper than I knew we could, rode the roaring Hudson tide, and absolutely smashed the remaining miles to finish right where we started at Pier A.
Crossing that final finish line, completing the full 28 mile loop, and finally getting my hands on that finisher’s medal was a moment of pure closure. My body is completely broken, but we achieved exactly what we set out to do. We proved that when the path is blocked, you find another way.
Most importantly, because of your unbelievable, overwhelming generosity, the local community, friends, and family have raised £7,000 for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. That money will fund life-changing care for the next generation of children facing their own daunting battles, a cause that will always mean everything to our family after what they did for our daughter Jasmine.
Time to catch a flight back to the UK, get some sleep, and let my arms recover but I wanted to capture the key moments whilst they were fresh in my mind.
The journey is complete. Thank you for being part of the crew.
Dry Land
After Dinner Speaking
An engaging, high-energy storyteller who brings the raw, humorous, and deeply moving realities of elite marathon swimming to life, perfect for captivating audiences at corporate, club, and charity events.
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