S’pore doctor completes Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming in shortest time, breaking 2021 record
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Except for the English Channel leg, a safety crew member in a kayak always accompanied Dr Chua Jia Long on his swims.
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF CHUA JIA LONG
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- Navy doctor Chua Jia Long completed the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming in a record time of 23 days, raising funds for St Luke's Hospital.
- The Triple Crown comprises the Catalina Channel, 20 Bridges swim around Manhattan Island, and the English Channel, each presenting unique challenges such as jellyfish and busy waterways.
- Dr Chua aims to raise $1.5 million for the hospital, with donations accepted until October 31; so far, he has raised over $900,000.
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SINGAPORE – Navy doctor Chua Jia Long, 34, who took the plunge in September into three iconic waterways to raise funds for St Luke’s Hospital, has done so in record time.
Dr Chua conquered the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, known as one of the world’s toughest endurance feats, in just 23 days, beating the fastest recorded time of 27 days set by Mr Joel Matos Ortiz from Puerto Rico in 2021.
The Triple Crown comprises the 32.2km Catalina Channel between Catalina island and the California mainland, the 48.5km 20 Bridges swim around Manhattan Island and the 33.7km English Channel.
Dr Chua’s Catalina swim began on Sept 4, followed by the 20 Bridges swim on Sept 10. The start date of his English Channel leg was delayed due to weather conditions, but he eventually did the final swim on Sept 27.
He said he felt “relief and joy” after the English Channel leg, but he became physically ill with nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
“I did not get a chance to really celebrate this with my loved ones. Right now, I’m still trying to process the experience while recovering from the English Channel swim,” the medical officer in the Republic of Singapore Navy told The Straits Times.
He was accompanied by his wife, Ms Samantha Chia, who was in a vessel as part of the safety crew.
The feat not only made Dr Chua the first Singaporean to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, but it also set a new world record for the shortest Triple Crown.
His achievement will be recorded in LongSwimsDB by the end of 2025. LongSwimsDB is the official results database of the Marathon Swimmers Federation, compiling accurate historical records of the world’s marathon swims and swimmers.
The Triple Crown is Dr Chua’s second fund-raising effort for St Luke’s Hospital, with a target of $1.5 million
His first was the 192km swim in the frigid waters of New York’s Hudson River
With a total distance of 114.4km, the Triple Crown is shorter than his Hudson River swim, but has the prestige of an internationally recognised challenge consisting of three iconic and demanding swims.
Dr Chua said each of the swims in the three waterways presented different challenges.
He started training for the challenge in 2024, gradually increasing the duration of the swims from one hour to two, three, four “and up to nine hours and beyond”, he said.
In a previous interview, he said he started his day at 4.30am with a 4km swim, followed by an evening session. On weekends, he clocked up to eight hours or 24km at a stretch.
He also said training for cold-water swims in Singapore’s tropical climate presents unique challenges so he made sure he was in California for more than a week before the first swim to make sure that he was prepared.
He also had some days before the New York and English Channel swims to acclimatise.
“Part of the distance and duration of swimming in Catalina was seven to eight hours at night, which was a mental challenge, coupled with the numerous and frequent jellyfish stings,” he said, adding that he finished the course in 11 hours and 17 minutes.
This is Dr Chua Jia Long’s second fund-raising effort for St Luke’s Hospital, with a target of $1.5 million. He has managed to raise over $900,000 thus far.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
For the swims, Dr Chua wore swimming trunks and a swim cap.
The longer 20 Bridges swim around Manhattan Island took him a shorter time of seven hours and 56 minutes to complete, but the first couple of hours were challenging as it was raining and windy.
“It was also a busy waterway and there were times we had to push hard and fast to avoid getting caught waiting behind ferries and cruises,” he said.
The last leg, the English Channel, was “a long uncertain wait”.
“I could not swim in the original window of between Sept 14 and 20 as the wind conditions were unsuitable. So we extended our stay in the hope of clear weather. The swim on Sept 27 was confirmed only three days before and by then, autumn had officially started. The days were shorter and the weather had got colder. That made the Channel even more daunting,” Dr Chua said.
It was also the one that he took the longest to finish, at 12 hours and 41 minutes.
“It had a bit of everything – numerous jellyfish, night swimming since we started at 2am when the weather was favourable, busy waterways, and the water was cold at 15.8 deg C,” he said.
Associate Professor Tan Boon Yeow, chief executive of St Luke’s Hospital, said: “This remarkable achievement by Jia Long is a true testament to his grit and resilience in overcoming immense physical and mental challenges – even against the unforgiving forces of nature. Most importantly, it reflects his unwavering commitment to raising $1.5 million in support of St Luke’s Hospital, enabling us to transform community care and enrich lives across our communities.”
Dr Chua, who is on his way home to Singapore, has managed to raise over $900,000 thus far. The charity campaign will continue until Oct 31. To donate, click on
