Ferguson Sets New World Record in Swim Against Plastic

SEATTLE (Waste 360): Plastic Oceans International and Breathe Conservation, two global nonprofit organizations dedicated to solving the plastic pollution problem, announced that South African endurance swimmer Sarah Ferguson set a new world record—becoming the first person to swim around the entire perimeter of Easter Island—as part of Swim Against Plastic, a global campaign to help end plastic pollution.

Ferguson achieved the world-record swim around Easter Island on Saturday, March 16. She swam 39.46 miles (63.5 kilometers) continuously over a duration of 19 hours and 8 minutes, finishing ahead of schedule in a swim expected to take approximately 24 hours to complete. She began swimming on March 15 at 8:07 a.m. EASST, officially launching the Swim Against Plastic campaign.

“It's an incredibly special moment for my team and me right now. To have pioneered a swim like this is still something I am wrapping my head around! But to have succeeded in doing something no one else has done is both humbling and amazingly exciting,” said Ferguson, founder of Breathe Conservation and ambassador for Plastic Oceans International, in a statement. “I hope that just as I swam around Easter Island, one stroke at a time, people choose to make one small decision at a time around single-use plastic to help preserve this beautiful blue ocean of ours.”

The goal of Swim Against Plastic is to encourage people to rethink their habits toward single-use, or throwaway plastic, and empower them to change and become part of the solution. Swim Against Plastic: Easter Island explores how local plastic pollution is impacted on a micro level—by exponentially growing tourism, increased population, commercial fishing and waste management—while providing a model to translate to a macro level for global application. Events include the record-breaking swim, education forums and beach cleanups, all coordinated with members of the Easter Island community.

Ferguson swam through dangerous currents in very high salt content, facing many serious risks to accomplish this human first. Her commitment to raise awareness about plastic pollution is why the Breathe Conservation founder, Plastic Oceans International ambassador and retired South African national swimmer embarked on Swim Against Plastic: Easter Island. She trained extensively to prepare and arrived on Easter Island from South Africa on March 11.

Courtesy: https://waste360.com