Mark Sowerby
Mark Sowerby is a 52-year-old Australian open water swimmer from the Gold Coast who completed the Oceans Seven and is featured in the film Don't Be Prey.
Contents
Open Water Swimming Highlights
- He was featured in the film Don't Be Prey as the protagonist.
- On 8 August 2015, he crossed the 33.5 km English Channel in 14 hours 24 minutes at the age of 44.
- On 24 April 2023, he crossed the 14.4 km Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco in 3 hours 24 minutes at the age of 51.
- On 7 September 2023, he crossed the 35 km North Channel from Northern Ireland to Scotland in 12 hours 12 minutes at the age of 52.
- On 4 October 2022, he completed a 32.3 km crossing of the Catalina Channel from Santa Catalina Island to the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Southern California in 10 hours 43 minutes 49 seconds, observed by Steve Chase and Bob Needham.
- On 6 April 2022, he completed a 42 km crossing of the Molokai Channel from Molokai Island to Oahu in 14 hours 23 minutes at the age of 51, piloted by Michael Twigg-Smith.
- He competed in the Swim Around Keppel event, a 20 km circumnavigation swim around Great Keppel Island in Queensland, Australia held on 15 August 2020, finishing in 5 hours 44 minutes.
- On 8 August 2015, he completed the Channel Swim for Starlight, a 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel from England to France in 14 hours 24 minutes that raised over $901,000 for the charity swim at the age of 44.
- He completed the 34 km Derwent River Big Swim in 8 hours 55 minutes 12 seconds, piloted by Val Kalmikovs on 17 March 2022.
- On 31 January 2024, he completed a 23 km crossing of the Cook Strait between North Island and South Island in New Zealand with Joanne Norman in 8 hours 3 minutes, escorted by pilot Grant Orchard.
- On 29 June 2024, he completed a 19.5 km crossing of the Tsugaru Channel from Honshu to Hokkaido in northern Japan in 10 hours 6 minutes. He started in Kodomari under the escort of Captain Kawayama at 4:06 am and finished at 2:12 pm with Tim Denyer as his coach and Captain Yoshimi Kawayama as his escort boat captain.
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)
Channel Swim for Starlight
The Brutal Ocean Seven Challenge Explained
Swimming across the Cook Strait
Swimming across the 23 km Cook Strait between North Island and South Island in New Zealand together with Joanne Norman with escort pilot Grant Orchard in 8 hours 3 minutes on 31 January 2024
Tombstone
with Oceans Seven swimmer Mark Sowerby and Oceans Seven creator Steven Munatones
Don't Be Prey Trailer
External links
- Swimmers Supporting Swimmers - In The Media With Best Human Spirit
- Don't Be Prey Coming To America
- The Blue Room Spreads Cheer From Down Under
- Oceans Seven Swimmers Taming The Dragon Across The Tsugaru Channel
- Living Adventurously In The 21st Century
- I Am A Survivor, Getting Through Difficult Times
- A Red Carpet Welcome Down Under For Don't Be Prey
- So Many Things To Be Afraid Of…For 10 Years During 7 Crossings: One Unbelievable Journey
- Mark Sowerby Talks About Endurance In The Ocean and On Dryland. His Oceans Seven Journey Continues
- A Decade To Destiny. Mark Sowerby’s Solo Challenge Turns Into Triumph and Global Friendships
- Paul Leonard Swims Around The World With Sharks and Siblings
- 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
- Don’t Be A Tombstone – The Freak Injury of Mark Sowerby
- Breaking News: Seismological Shift Sends Swimmer Shifting Along the Surface of Tsugaru
- Aussie Tough: Joanne Norman Will Be Back
- Treasuring Time On Tappi
- The Beauty and Challenges of the Cook Strait - and the Smiles of Success
- Mark Sowerby Achieves the Oceans Seven, a 9-Year Journey
- The Magic of Moloka'i - Crossing Ka'iwi
- Mark Sowerby Powering Through The World's Oceans
- Marathon Swimmers Federation bio
- 35 Go For 34 – in the Derwent River Big Swim
- Mark Sowerby Crosses Catalina…With A Bump In The Night
- Mark Makes Molokai
- Derwent River Big Swim
- Pioneers Swim Around Great Keppel Island
- Keppel Islands Swimming Association
- Swim Around Keppel
- Open Water Swimming
- English Channel crossing
