THE first-ever Spaniard to swim Japan's Tsugaru Channel, Alicante-based Jorge Crivillés has become only the 29th person in history to do so.
One of the crossings in the international Seven Oceans challenge, the 34-kilometre stretch of sea links Hokkaido, Japan with the island of Honshu and is one of the toughest of them all.
But Crivillés, 46, has managed it in eight hours and 29 minutes without stopping, the fifth-fastest time in history.
His brave move was in an attempt to raise money for the Spanish Association of Lymphoma, Myeloma and Leukaemia Patients (AEAL) the childhood cancer research fund, La Hucha de Tomás ('Tomás' Piggybank') and the cancer foundation ASISA.
ASISA helped him out with the practical aspects of the trip, including video footage of Crivillés' arrival at Honshu island after his eight-and-a-half-hour swim, a moment he describes as 'very exciting'.
Crivillés began swimming in the sea to help him recover from a back injury in 2009, and became bitten by the open water crossing bug very quickly.
Photograph: @jorgecrivilles on Twitter, taken by the ASISA Foundation
