Singapore doctor to swim in three iconic waterways to raise $1.5m

His 192km swim in the frigid waters of New York's Hudson River in 2023 did not freeze out his determination to stage a second fund-raising effort for St Luke's Hospital in 2025, with a target of $1.5 million.

In fact, navy doctor Chua Jia Long, 34, will be taking the plunge in September into not one but three iconic waterways.

Known as the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, the gruelling challenge comprises the crossing of the 32.3km Catalina Channel between Santa Catalina Island and the Southern California mainland in the US; the 20 Bridges Swim around Manhattan Island, which is about 48.5km; and the crossing of the 33.5km English Channel between England and France.

With a total distance of 114.3km, the Triple Crown is shorter than his Hudson River swim.

However, it is considered more prestigious as it is an internationally recognised challenge consisting of three iconic and demanding swims.

"I have always wanted to do these channels and I think it is the wish of all open water swimmers to do so during their lifetime," the medical officer in the Republic of Singapore Navy told The Straits Times.

"Actually, the order of doing things is a bit wrong. The Hudson (swim) is technically harder, but I felt very strongly about doing it (then)."

Dr Chua conquered the Hudson River in about 44 hours over seven days despite battling muscle cramps.

He became the 24th person in the world and the first Singaporean to achieve the feat.

This time, he aims to be the first Singaporean to complete the Triple Crown challenge and to beat the fastest recorded time, currently held by Mr Joel Matos Ortiz from Puerto Rico.

Mr Ortiz, an aquatic therapist, achieved the feat in 27 days in 2021.

He crossed the Catalina Channel on July 16 that year, and nine days later, on July 25, he completed the 20 Bridges Swim.

Finally, on Aug 12, he finished crossing the English Channel.

For Dr Chua, his Catalina swim will begin on Sept 4, followed by the 20 Bridges swim from Sept 10.

"The English Channel is less straightforward, because I will be given a number in a window from Sept 14 to 20. I will be the third person in that window... The weather conditions for the preceding days... will determine when I actually get to go out," he said.

"Even if I were to complete the channel on the last day (Sept 20), it would still effectively break the record."

Dr Chua, who is married, started training for the challenge in 2024.

The training would take at least a year, during which "you gradually increase the duration of the swims from one hour to two, three, four, (up to) nine hours and beyond", he said.

"You would have to plan acclimation swims overseas, so the time cost and the energy investment to do any water endurance (training) is quite a lot. From a logical standpoint, it makes more sense to do all three (waterways) at one go."

He starts his day at 4.30am with a 4km swim before work, followed by an evening session.

On weekends, he clocks up to eight hours or 24km at a stretch.

Training for cold-water swims in Singapore's tropical climate presents unique challenges.

"Being able to tahan (tolerate) the cold environment for 10, 20 minutes is different from being immersed in it for hours... I will be there for more than a week before the first swim to make sure that I am prepared for the Catalina swim as much as possible," said Dr Chua.

"That includes training at night, and being exposed to colder waters... For each of the other swims in New York and the English Channel, I will have some days to acclimatise."

His swim in the Hudson River raised $250,000 for St Luke's Hospital in Bukit Batok, where he served as a medical officer in 2020.

This time, Dr Chua hopes to raise $1.5 million in time for the hospital's 30th anniversary in October 2026.

"During my time there, I saw how the team cared deeply for each patient - not just attending to their medical needs but also supporting them as a person. That experience left a profound impact on me. This is my way of giving back to the hospital and the patients, whose resilience continues to inspire me," he said.

• To follow Dr Chua's progress and donate, click on https://give.asia/campaign/triple-crown-swim-for-st-luke-s-hospital-30th-anniversary