As of yesterday, endurance athlete Ross Edgley is the only person in the world who can say he has circumnavigated the entire Icelandic coastline – as a swimmer.
The 39-year-old from Grantham previously made headlines when he became the first man to swim around the UK in 2018. Despite a disintegrating “salt tongue”, untold chafing and a wearisome diet of around 10,000 calories per day, he has now added another island nation to his unorthodox yet impressive CV.
Edgley’s latest challenge started on 17 May, and after a 1,000-mile odyssey lasting almost four months, the swim came to its conclusion on Monday, 8 September, at Nauthólsvík Beach in Reykjavik.
“This has been the toughest and most ambitious challenge I have attempted yet,” says the Gym King athlete. “Iceland provided an incredible opportunity to test my physical and mental limits, providing some insane experiences I will never forget.”
His friend, actor Chris Hemsworth, was among the first to congratulate Edgley on conquering the Icelandic coastline.
“Ross breaks the mould and redefines endurance sport and adventure,” the actor says. “He’s what happens when tough and crazy collide. This wasn’t just a swim, it was an epic saga that now takes its rightful place in Icelandic folklore.”
Throughout the challenge, Edgley was supported from land and sea by a team of expert sailors, scientists and more. A crew sailed with him on a 68ft SKIRR Adventures expedition yacht, where he slept, recovered and refuelled between efforts, while a fleet of BMW iX electric vehicles provided logistical support from shore.
This was key for the swim’s secondary purpose – collecting environmental DNA samples from around Iceland, painting a picture of the biodiversity around the country’s coastline and raising awareness of the impact of climate change on the North Atlantic.
“We wanted to help scientists understand how these waters are changing; to find out how widespread pollutants like micro-plastics are and to conduct the first ever e-DNA study around the entire coast for the EU project, Bioprotect,” Edgley explains. “Swimming day in and day out gave us a completely unique perspective on the ocean, and it was a privilege to support real-time research that could aid in future conservation efforts.”
Camera crews followed Edgley’s latest adventure, and an upcoming documentary on Channel 4 will provide behind-the-scenes insights into the physical and mental fortitude needed to survive some of the world’s most testing seas.
