Joanne Norman

Joanne Norman appeared in the film Don't Be Prey about Mark Sowerby and his Oceans Seven journey around the world

Joanne Norman swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar in a tandem swim with Mark Sowerby

Joanne Norman is seeking the Oceans Seven with the English Channel, Strait of Gibraltar, Catalina Channel, Cook Strait, and North Channel completed

Jamie Mackay, Paul Leonard, Red Top Swimming Club coach Tim Denyer, Red Top Swimming Club coach Matt Duggan, Rob Woodhouse, Zeina Alsharkas, Jo Norman, and Miles Worling at Waikiki Beach near the Strait of Gibraltar in Spain

Joanne Norman is a 54-year-old Australian open water swimmer and triathlete from Geraldton, Western Australia who now lives in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. She is the 43rd person in history to complete the Oceans Seven.

Open Water Swimming Highlights

• She was featured in the film Don't Be Prey, appearing as herself.
• On 19 July 2025, she completed a 19.5 km Tsugaru Channel from Aomori to Hokkaido in northern Japan in 13 hours 17 minutes at the age of 54, 4 months after being bitten by a cookiecutter shark in the Molokai Channel.
• On 30 March 2025, she aborted her 45 km crossing of the Molokai Channel from Molokai Island to Oahu after swimming for 10 hours at the age of 54. She was approximately 15 km from Alan Davis Beach on Oahu.
• She finished fifth in the 2017 Abu Dhabi City Swim that is part of the UAE City Swim Series in the United Arab Emirates.
• On 19 July 2021, she crossed the 33.5 km English Channel from England to France in 12 hours 42 minutes at the age of 50.
• On 22 April 2023, she crossed the 14.4 km Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco in 3 hours 18 minutes at the age of 52.
• On 5 October 2023, she crossed the 32.3 km Catalina Channel from Santa Catalina Island to the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Southern California in 11 hours 42 minutes at the age of 53 to achieve the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.
• On 31 January 2024, she crossed the 23 km Cook Strait with Mark Sowerby in 8 hours 3 minutes together with Mark Sowerby.
• In September 2024, she crossed the 35 km North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland in 13 hours 8 minutes.
• On 1 March 2025, she completed a 45 km crossing of the Molokai Channel from Pāpōhaku Beach on Molokai to Alan Davis Beach on Oahu in 14 hours 15 minutes to achieve the Oceans Seven.

Swimming the Cook Strait

Swimming across the 23 km Cook Strait between North Island and South Island in New Zealand together with Mark Sowerby with escort pilot Grant Orchard in 8 hours 3 minutes on 31 January 2024

UAE City Swim Series

The UAE City Swim Series offers open water swims in races in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Ajman. The races take place in the winter season in the UAE, between October and March:

• 250m, 500m, 1 km, 2 km Dubai City Swim in October 2016 in Le Méridien Abu Dhabi in Abu Dhabi, UAE for the Charitable Al Jalila Foundation fund-raising for Road to Awareness
• 250m, 500m, 1 km, 2.5 km Sharjah City Swim on 26 November 2016 in Sheraton Sharjah Beach Resort & Spa in Sharjah, UAE for the Charitable Al Jalila Foundation fund-raising for Road to Awareness
• 250m, 500m, 1 km, 2.5 km Abu Dhabi City Swim on 21 January 2016 in Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort in Dubai, UAE for the Charitable Al Jalila Foundation fund-raising for Road to Awareness
• 250m, 500m, 1 km, 2.5 km Ajman City Swim on 4 March 2017 in Ajman Saray, a Luxury Collection Resort in Ajman, UAE for the Charitable Al Jalila Foundation fund-raising for Road to Awareness

Oceans Seven Swimmers

As of 17 July 2026, 52 humans in history have completed the Oceans Seven:

1st: Stephen Redmond (Ireland)
2nd: Anna-Carin Nordin (Sweden)
3rd: Michelle Macy (USA)
4th: Darren Miller (USA)
5th: Adam Walker (UK)
6th: Kimberley Chambers (New Zealand)
7th: Antonio Argüelles (Mexico)
8th: Ion Lazarenco Tiron (Moldavia/Ireland)
9th: Rohan Dattatrey More (India)
10th: Abhejali Bernardová (Czech Republic)
11th: Cameron Bellamy (South Africa)
12th: Lynton Mortensen (Australia)
13th: Thomas Pembroke (Australia)
14th: Nora Toledano Cadena (Mexico)
15th: Mariel Hawley Davila (Mexico)
16th: André Wiersig (Germany)
17th: Elizabeth Fry (USA)
18th: Attila Mányoki (Hungary)
19th: Jonathan Ratcliffe (UK)
20th: Jorge Crivilles Villanueva (Spain)]
21st: Adrian Sarchet (Guernsey)
22nd: Prabhat Koli (India)
23rd: Dina Levačić (Croatia)
24th: Herman van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
25th: Andy Donaldson (Scotland)
26th: Stephen Junk (Australia)
27th: Kieron Palframan (South Africa)
28th: Bárbara Hernández Huerta (Chile)
29th: Mark Sowerby (Australia)
30th: Paul Georgescu (Romania)
31st: Zach Margolis (USA)
32nd: Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria)
33rd: Nathalia Pohl (Germany)
34th: Caitlin O’Reilly (New Zealand at the age of 20 years 7 months 15 days)
35th: Ryan Utsumi (USA)
36th: Marcia Cleveland (USA)
37th: Eduardo Collazos Valle-Guayo (Peru)
38th: Rob Woodhouse (Australia)
39th: Alessandra Rossi Cima (Brazil)
40th: Bengisu Avci (Turkey)
41st: Simon Olliver (New Zealand)
42nd: Andreas Waschburger (Germany)
43rd: Joanne Norman (Australia)
44th: Paul Leonard (Great Britain)
45th: Gráinne Moss (Ireland)
46th: Karen Ennis (Great Britain)
47th: Rob Lea (USA) who simultaneously achieved history's first Double Sevens
48th: Anshuman Jhingran (India) at 21 years 3 months and 17 days
49th: Joe Zemaitis (USA) the first person to complete the Oceans Seven and the Stillwater 8
50th: Bogusław Ogrodnik (Poland)
51st: Toni Enderli (Switzerland)
52nd: Steve Leitch (USA)

External links

• Crossing The Molokai Channel Is A Huge Success
• Swimmers Supporting Swimmers - In The Media With Best Human Spirit
• Don't Be Prey Coming To America
• So Many Things To Be Afraid Of…For 10 Years During 7 Crossings: One Unbelievable Journey
• Joanne Norman On Her Last Leg of the Oceans Seven
• Paul Leonard’s First Reactions and Actions in a Shark Attack
• Paul Leonard Swims Around The World With Sharks and Siblings
• Paul Leonard’s Molokai Channel Redux Is A Success
• One Day To Change Your Life – Mark Sowerby Experienced Many
• Don't Be Prey website
• Don't Be Prey IMDb
• Taking Aussie Tough to a Whole 'nother Level: Joanne Norman Is Back, Tackles Tough Tsugaru
• Yasemin Altintas and Murat Öz Abort Tandem Molokai Channel Crossing after Bite from a Cookiecutter Shark
• Aussie Tough: Joanne Norman Will Be Back
• Lorelei Schmidt Travels Cross Country to Cross Molokai in 19 Hours 38 Minutes
• Red Top Cruises Along The California Shore This Week
• Mark Sowerby Powering Through The World's Oceans
• Marathon Swimmers Federation bio
• Ajman City Swim To Culminate UAE City Swim Series
• Global Swim Series
• Abu Dhabi City Swim
• Dhabi City Swim
• World Open Water Swimming Association
• Dubai City Swim
• Sharjah City Swim
• Road to Awareness