Malaysia’s marathon swimmer Ridzwan Rahim, will attempt a solo swim from Pulau Redang to Pulau Lang Tengah in the early hours of tomorrow.
Accompanying Ridzwan is his Perhentian Channel Swim team, on three escort boats, and a kayak.
The distance between Pulau Redang and Pulau Lang Tengah is 10km, but due to the sea conditions, currents, and the elements, Ridzwan anticipates a swim distance of 13-15km.
The 47-year-old writer has completed three extraordinary swims – Pulau Perhentian to the mainland (2021), Pulau Redang to the mainland (2023) and Pulau Lang Tengah to Pulau Perhentian in March this year.
Those challenges are a part of Ridzwan’s ‘Terengganu Four Swims’ or ‘WTF Swims’.
He was the first person to complete the first three challenges, and will seek more history, come Sunday morning.
He has even designed a board game to commemorate his achievements.
“The beautiful islands of Terengganu have the potential to become routes that can attract serious marathon swimmers from all over the world,” said Ridzwan.
“In October, two Australians will attempt to swim from the mainland to Pulau Perhentian.
“My team and I will be there to support them. Hopefully, we can get more people to do this adventure,” added Ridzwan, who swam from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco City in 2015 and 2016.
The Odyssey Alcatraz Swim is not a race, but a friendly swim in an exciting, safe environment, and attracts 300-500 swimmers each year.
Ridzwan hopes ‘Terengganu Four Swims’ can attract a similar crowd one day.
For the Redang-Lang Tengah Solo Swim, former Sarawakian swimming champion, Tania Bugo, will be on a support boat as one of the observers.
Observers play a crucial role in ensuring the rules of open-water swimming are adhered to, so that the Marathon Swimmers Federation (MSF) can ratify the swim.
MSF has ratified Ridzwan’s first two swims, while the third one is awaiting ratification.
“MSF requires a minimum of two trustworthy observers for high-profile, or unprecedented swims,” said Ridzwan. (link)
“We are delighted to have Tania on board as one of the observers. I hope to complete the swim in under eight hours.”
The Redang-Lang Tengah Solo Swim is supported by Kem Damai Besut, Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia, EYECARE, Your Physio, and MySwim Coaching.
