Lewis Pugh

"The swims were intended to draw attention to the health of the oceans. But I seriously underestimated the urgency of the issue I was swimming for. As the United Nation's Patron of the Oceans, I have given many speeches stressing the need to protect our environment for the sake of our children and grandchildren. I now I realize it’s not about our children. It’s about us. The situation is much worse than I thought. I was shocked by what I saw in the seas, and by what I didn’t see. I saw no sharks, no whales, no dolphins. I saw no fish longer than 30 centimeters (11 inches). The larger ones had all been fished out."

In July and August 2018, Pugh swam the entire length of the English Channel – the first person ever to do so. He left Land's End in Cornwall on 12 July and arrived in Dover on 29 August, after 49 days at sea. He swam between 10 and 20 kilometres each day in order to cover the distance. Pugh swam the 528 kilometres (328 miles) to call for 30% of oceans to be protected by 2030. He was greeted on landing at Shakespeare Beach by UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove, who described him as a "modern day hero" and a "brilliant champion for marine conservation zones.'

In 2018 Pugh was listed as the 3rd most influential person in the world discussing how to tackle plastic pollution on social media.

In November 2017, Pugh became be the first person to swim in the Antarctic waters around South Georgia Island.

In 2016 he played a pivotal role in creating the largest marine reserve in the world in the Ross Sea off Antarctica. The media coined the term "Speedo Diplomacy" to describe his efforts swimming in the icy waters of Antarctica and shutting between the USA and Russia to help negotiate the final agreement.

In 2015 Royal Dutch Shell decided to pull out of their proposed fracking projects in South Africa citing lower energy prices and delays in obtaining an exploration licence.

In August 2014 Pugh undertook the first long-distance swim in all the Seven Seas to campaign for more Marine Protected Areas in the region. The swims took place in the following locations:

In 2013 he was inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.

"Never, ever did I think there would be a debate in this arid country about which was more important – gas or water. We can survive without gas. We can not live without water ... Now is the time for change. We cannot drill our way out of the energy crisis. The era of fossil fuels is over. We must invest in renewable energy. And we must not delay."

In 2013 he appeared on the front of The Big Issue holding a northern rockhopper penguin in an issue dedicated to ocean issues.

In 2013 Pugh wrote a second book entitled "21 Yaks and a Speedo". The title is a reference to his swim on Mt Everest. The book is a collection of 21 short stories about his expeditions and the lessons he has learnt from them. It was published by Jonathan Ball Publishers. The Financial Times described the book as "compelling" and Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu said "The book made me want to stand a little taller."

Pugh has addressed the World Economic Forum at their annual meeting in Davos. He also gave the keynote addresses at Coca-Cola's 125th anniversary in 2011, Lloyd's Agency Network's 200th anniversary in 2011, and Swiss Re's 150th anniversary in 2013.

Pugh also opposes fracking for gas in the Karoo region of South Africa. In a public speech to Royal Dutch Shell in 2011 entitled "Standing up to Goliath" he said:

In 2010 Pugh was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and in 2013 the United Nations appointed him as the first UN Patron of the Oceans.

In May 2010 Pugh swam across Lake Pumori, a glacial lake on Mt Everest, to highlight the melting of the glaciers in the Himalayas and the impact the reduced water supply will have on world peace. Millions of people from India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal rely on the water, which flows from the Himalayan glaciers. The 1 km (0.62 mi) swim, at an altitude of 5,300 metres, in 2 °C water (35 °F), took 22 minutes and 51 seconds to complete.

Pugh has twice spoken at the TED Global Conference and is described on their website as a "master story-teller". The Financial Times reported that his speech at TEDGlobal in 2010:

In 2010 Pugh's autobiography "Achieving the Impossible" was published by Simon & Schuster. It quickly became a No. 1 best-seller.

In 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Pugh took the evidence of witnesses from across Africa on the effects of climate change at the Pan-African Climate and Poverty Hearings. The evidence was presented to the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

In 2009 Pugh starred in Robson Green's Wild Swimming Adventure where he trained the English actor to swim across the icy waters of Llyn Llydaw, a lake on Snowdon in Wales. Afterwards Robson Green said:

In 2009 Pugh married Antoinette Malherbe, whom he met at school.

In September 2008, Pugh, accompanied by a team aboard a ship where he slept, attempted to kayak the 1,200 km from Svalbard, across the Arctic Ocean, to the North Pole, but the team abandoned the effort 135 km from the start. The aim was to further highlight the melting sea ice. The expedition coincided with some scientists predicting that the North Pole could be free of sea-ice in the summer of 2008, for the first time in thousands of years. Pugh stated that despite several attempts, they were unable to find a gap in the ice. In his autobiography Pugh wrote:

And his speech on environmental leadership at the 2008 Business Innovation Forum Conference in the USA was voted as one of the "7 Most Inspiring Videos on the Web" by Mashable, the social media guide.

In 2008 Pugh founded the Polar Defense Project to campaign for greater protection for the Arctic and a resolution of the maritime boundary disputes. In 2009 it won the Best Project for the Environment at the inaugural Beyond Sport Awards.

Pugh is best known for undertaking the first swim across the North Pole in 2007 to highlight the melting of the Arctic sea ice. In 2010 he swam across a glacial lake on Mount Everest to draw attention to the melting of the glaciers in the Himalayas, and the impact the reduced water supply will have on peace in the region. In 2018 he swam the full length of the English Channel to call for 30% of the world's oceans to be protected by 2030.

In February 2007 Pugh became the first person to swim across the width of the Maldives. He undertook the swim to raise awareness about the effect of climate change on low-lying islands in the world. The 140 km (87 mi) swim took 10 days to complete.

In July 2007 Pugh undertook the first long-distance swim across the Geographic North Pole. The 1 km (0.62 mi) swim, across an open patch of sea, in minus 1.7 °C (29 °F) water, took 18 minutes and 50 seconds to complete. Jørgen Amundsen, the great-grandnephew of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, paced Pugh by skiing alongside him during the swim.

In 2006 Pugh challenged Russia's top cold water swimmers to a 500-metre race at the World Winter Swimming Championships in Finland. He easily won the gold medal, beating Russian Champion Alexander Brylin by over 100 metres and the bronze medalist Nefatov Vladimir by 125 metres.

In 2006 Pugh achieved the "Holy Grail" of swimming by becoming the first person to complete a long-distance swim in all five oceans of the world. His five swims were :

In 2006, he became the first person to swim the entire length of the River Thames. He undertook the swim to draw attention to the severe drought in England and the dangers of global warming. The 325 km (202 mi) swim took him 21 days to complete. The upper stretch of the river had stopped flowing due to the drought, forcing Pugh to run the first 42 km (26 mi) of the river.

In 2005 he broke the world record for the farthest-north long-distance swim by undertaking a 1 km (0.62 mi) swim at 80° North around Verlegenhuken, the northern-most cape in Spitsbergen. He followed that five months later by breaking Lynne Cox's world record for the farthest-south long-distance swim by undertaking a 1 km (0.62 mi) swim at 65° South at Petermann Island off the Antarctic Peninsula.

After 2003 Pugh focused on pioneering swims in the coldest and most hostile waters of the world. All of them were undertaken in accordance with Channel Swimming Association rules, in just a pair of Speedo swimming trunks, cap and goggles. He became the first person to swim around the infamous North Cape, the northernmost point in Europe. The following year he became the first person to swim down the entire length of Sognefjord in Norway, a 204 km (127 mi) swim which took him 21 days to complete.

In 2003 Pugh left his maritime law practice to campaign full-time for the protection of the oceans. He often addresses Heads of State and business leaders on the topics of climate change, overfishing and pollution and the need for Marine Protected Areas and low carbon economies.

Pugh had his first real swimming lesson in 1986, at the age of 17. One month later he swam from Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned) to Cape Town. In 1992 he swam across the English Channel. In 2002 he broke the record for the fastest time for swimming around Robben Island.

Lewis William Gordon Pugh, OIG, (born 5 December 1969) is a British-South African endurance swimmer and ocean advocate.

During his youth Pugh visited many National Parks in South Africa, following his father's desire to teach him to love and respect nature after what he had witnessed whilst serving in the Royal Navy. His father was present at the first British atomic bomb test in 1952 and a number of subsequent tests.