Inspirational speaker and extreme swimmer Ryan Stramrood has become the second person to swim 100 crossings between Robben Island and the mainland, in a time of two hours 18 minutes.
He follows his late friend and swimming companion Theodore Yach, who made the swim an incredible 108 times.
Ryan dedicated his 7,4km swim to Theo, saying: “I trained with him often and swam a number of Robben Island crossings with him, including his 100th. Theo swam my 50th crossing with me in 2015 and would have joined me on my 100th today.”
Ryan said of today’s swim: “Totally elated to be on the beach. No Robben Island Swim is ever easy. Today was my 100th and I’ve made it. It was tough out there, it was cold and it got choppy, so I am very very happy.”
Fellow extreme swimmer and environmental campaigner Lewis Pugh accompanied Ryan in a support boat and said:
“It’s an incredible achievement to swim 100 Robben Islands. I have been swimming for 32 years and I have never done an easy Robben Island, never once, and he has now done 100. The thing about Robben Island is that it’s always unpredictable: you think you are going to do two hours and conditions change and it takes three hours; you think you will take 3 hours and it becomes 5 hours. It shows Ryan has got real mental fortitude and ‘vasbyt.’”
