On his third attempt, Marcos Diaz successfully crossed the cold waters of the 30-40 mile English Channel/Canal de La Mancha (14-16 degrees Celsius) between England and France. With a Channel Crossings Association official time of 9 hours and 56 minutes, the long-distance swimmer becomes the first Dominican to make such a claim. Of his feat, Diaz said he endured rain and even the company of a shark. He said the worst leg of the journey was at the halfway mark, where the accompanying boat?s diesel fumes caused him to vomit several times. He said he began to feel comfortable again after the sixth hour of the swim. He touched land at a beach between Cap Gris-Nez and Cap Blanc-Nez in France. Upon arriving, he gave his thanks to God, and then, after signaling to his coach, Augusto Garcia, that they had made it, Diaz sought to find a souvenir on the beach. Ironically, he said the toughest ride was on the boat back to England. ?I get sea sick on boats, and with the choppy seas, I found it more tiring than when swimming.?
Diaz?s scored the 109th best time of the 695 swimmers who have made the crossing and the third best for a Latin American. The record is 7 hours and 17 minutes, set by Chud Hundeby of the US in 1994.