MERMAID OF THE SEVEN SEAS
Open water swimmers need to be ambassadors for our precious blue spaces, Oceans Seven swimmer Bárbara Hernández tells Abigail Whyte
Bárbara’s favourite swimming spot, Portillo in Chile, where she married last September
From the icy depths at the foot of glaciers to the tropical waters of the Molokai Channel, Bárbara Hernández has seen the world from the water.
In June 2024 Bárbara became the 28th person, 8th woman and first South American to complete the Oceans Seven, a marathon swimming challenge that comprises seven of the toughest channel swims in the world. A distance of 230km, these crossings present unique challenges for the swimmer including strong tides, rough swells, extreme cold and jellyfish. To finish the challenge to Marathon Swimming Federation standards, challengers must complete the swims without any equipment that benefits speed, buoyancy or heat retention.
Luckily, Bárbara is no stranger to the cold. Interspersed with her Oceans Seven, Bárbara took on other astounding feats, including her fastest female swim (without skins) in the Strait of Magellan, and her world’s longest swim in Antarctica – swims that have earned her the nickname ‘The Ice Mermaid’.
Ten months on from completing the final leg of her Oceans Seven, we caught up with Bárbara about her reflections on the marathon challenge, her wedding in her favourite wild swimming spot and her preparations for the English Channel Double Crossing in July.
Bárbara, firstly, congratulations on completing the Oceans Seven. How does it feel to be the first South American to finish the challenge?
It feels amazing to have completed this crazy challenge that was 10 years of my life. A dream. Most of the swims I did were a first for my country – the last Chilean to swim the English Channel was back in the 1970s.