Nathalie Pohl Explained

Birth Date:	13 October 1994
Birth Place:	Marburg, Germany
Website:	nathaliepohl.de
Strokes:	Open water swimming

Nathalie Pohl (born 13 October 1994) is a German open water swimmer and extreme swimmer. She is also a two-time world record holder^{[1] [2]} and holder of the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.^[3] Pohl completed six of the seven Oceans Seven swims (as of March 2023).^[4]

Career

Pohl has been swimming since the age of five, initially for various Hessian clubs competitively. As a 19-year-old, she switched to open water swimming in 2014.^[5] In her first year, she took part in the Bodenseequerung (Lake Constance Crossing),^[6] the 27th Lake Zurich Swim in Switzerland^[7] as well as the Clean Half Marathon Swim^[8] and New World Harbour Race in Hong Kong.^[9]

In 2015, she launched her first attempt to cross the English Channel and thus the first leg of the Oceans Seven, but failed to do so. A year later, she set her first world record, breaking the previous women's record for the 14 km Strait of Gibraltar, which had been set in 2010. In October of the same year, she crossed the English Channel on her second attempt. Thus, in 2016, she had successfully completed two of the seven Oceans Seven legs. In 2017, Pohl crossed the Catalina Channel on her first attempt. A year later, she had to prematurely postpone her crossing of the Tsugaru Strait in Japan due to a broken rib.

In 2018, Pohl became the first German swimmer to achieve the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming. She earned this title by crossing the English Channel and Catalina Canal in previous years, as well as completing the 20 Bridges Swim around Manhattan in June of that year.

In 2019, she completed Tsugaru Strait, her fourth leg of the Oceans Seven, on her second attempt. That same year, the first attempt to cross Cook Strait failed. In February 2020, she failed in her second attempt. However, in the same year, she achieved her second world record by crossing the Jersey Channel almost an hour faster than the previous record holder and over a quarter of an hour faster than any previous male swimmer. In August 2022, she crossed the Kaiwi Channel from Molokai to Oahu, her fifth leg of the Oceans Seven. In early 2023, she crossed Cook Strait on her third attempt, her sixth leg of the Oceans Seven.^[10]

In addition, she competed in international competitions, including in Israel, Australia,^[11] Spain^[12] and the United Arab Emirates.^[13] She is coached by Joshua Neuloh^[14] and Adam Walker.^[15]

Achievements

Records

• 23 April 2016: World record for crossing the Strait of Gibraltar (14 km) in 2:53 hours,
• 7 September 2020: World record for crossing the Jersey Channel (22.5 km) in 5:29 hours,
• 1 July 2016: record for crossing Lake Constance between Friedrichshafen and Romanshorn (35 km) in 9:19 hours.

Swims of the Oceans Seven*

Track	Start/End	Length	Duration	Date	Remarks
Strait of Gibraltar	Morocco and Spain	14 km	02:53	2016-04-23	fastest female swimmer (world record)
English Channel	England and France	34 km	11:10	2016-09-21	fastest German female swimmer
Catalina Channel	Santa Catalina Island and Los Angeles	34 km	09:09	2017-06-19	first German female swimmer, fastest female European
Tsugaru Strait	Island Honshu and Hokkaido, Japan	20 km	10:09	2019-08-05	first German female swimmer, fastest female European
Kaiwi Channel	Islands Molokaʻi and Oʻahu, Hawaii	44 km	15:05	2022-08-17	first German female swimmer
Cook Strait	South and North Island of New Zealand	26 km	06:33	2023-03-01	first German female swimmer, fastest female European

*The route through the North Channel over 34 km (Northern Ireland and Scotland) has not yet been completed successfully.

International competition placings

• 10 August 2014: 27th Lake Zurich Swim, Switzerland (26 km): 2nd place women in 7:43 hours,
• 20 June 2014: Breitenquerungen, Lake Constance (12 km): 1st place women in 2:50 hours,^[16]
• 11 October 2014: Clean Half Marathon Swim, Hong Kong (15 km): 10th place women in 4:49 hours,
• 12 October 2014: New World Harbour Race, Hong Kong (1.5 km): 3rd place women,
• 23 July 2017: Bosphorus Cross Continental Swim, Turkey (6.5 km): 2nd place women,^[17] 6th overall,
• 25 February 2018: Rottnest Channel Swim, Australia (20 km): fastest European and in the women's top 20,
• 30 June 2018: 20 Bridges Swim, New York (46 km): 3rd fastest European and fastest German in 8:12 hours,
• 28 January 2019: Red Sea Swim Cup, Israel (7.5 km): 1st place women in 1:46 hours,
• 7 June 2021: Menorca Channel Crossing, Spain (40 km): 1st place women in 9:50 hours,
• 12 March 2022: Oceanman, United Arab Emirates (10 km): 1st place among women in the age group 20–29 years in 2:38 hours.

Further engagement

Pohl has been an investor in Restube since 2018. The company sells a sort of airbag for swimmers in the water. She is also the patron of the Water Experience Academy initiated by the company. The academy raises children's awareness of swimming in open water so that they can move safely there.^[18] Pohl is also a founding member of the non-profit organisation Menschen brauchen Menschen e.V., which is sponsored by Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG.^[19] Among other things, the association offers free beginners' swimming courses for children aged five to eleven in cooperation with the Marburger Tafel and the DLRG Marburg.^[20]

Private life

Pohl is the granddaughter of Reinfried Pohl (deceased), founder of Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG, and daughter of Andreas Pohl, Chairman of the board of Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG.

External links

• Official website of Nathalie Pohl

References

1. Web site: 2016-04-25 . Weltrekordzeit: Marburgerin schwimmt von Europa nach Afrika . World record time: Marburg woman swims from Europe to Africa . 2023-03-27 . www.welt.de . . de.
2. News: 2020-09-09 . Weltrekord im Kanal . de . 19 . . 2023-03-27 . 0931-9085.
3. News: 2019-01-31 . Nathalie Pohl siegt in Israel . de . Nathalie Pohl wins in Israel . Oberhessische Presse .
4. News: Steinle . Bernd . 2023-03-02 . Erste deutsche Extremschwimmerin schafft Cookstraße in Neuseeland . de . First German extreme swimmer makes Cook Strait in New Zealand . . 2023-03-27 . 0174-4909.
5. News: Steinle . Bernd . 2023-01-21 . Alles auf die Sieben . de . Everything on seven . 9 . Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
6. Web site: Peters . Robert . 2017-07-09 . Freiwasserschwimmerin Nathalie Pohl: Die junge Frau und das Meer . Open water swimmer Nathalie Pohl: The young woman and the sea . 2023-03-27 . rp-online.de . . de.
7. Web site: 2014-08-10 . 27. Int. Self-Transcendence Marathon Swim Rangliste 2014 . 27. Int. Self-Transcendence Marathon Swim Ranking 2014 . 2023-03-27 . ch.srichinmoyraces.org . Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team . de.
8. Web site: Munatones . Steven . 2018-07-01 . Nathalie Pohl Wins 20 Bridges, Achieves Triple Crown . 2023-03-27 . www.openwaterswimming.com . World Open Water Swimming Association . en-US.
9. Web site: 2014-12-09 . Sportlerwahl 2014 - Steinmühle . Sportsman's Choice 2014 - Steinmühle . 2023-03-27 . steinmuehle.de . municipality Marburg-Biedenkopf and city of Marburg . de-DE.
10. News: 2023-03-02 . Nathalie Pohl durchschwimmt als erste deutsche Frau die neuseeländische Cookstraße . de . Nathalie Pohl is the first German woman to swim the New Zealand Cook Strait . . 2023-03-27 . 2195-1349.
11. News: 2018-02-28 . Nathalie Pohl: "Es war einmalig" . de . Nathalie Pohl: "It was unique" . Oberhessische Presse.
12. News: 2022-08-23 . Immer auf der Jagd nach Rekorden . de . Always on the hunt for records . 18 . Oberhessische Presse.
13. Web site: 2022-03-16 . Marburger Schwimmerin Nathalie Pohl gewinnt Rennen in Dubai . Marburg swimmer Nathalie Pohl wins race in Dubai . 2023-03-27 . www.op-marburg.de . Oberhressische Presse . de.
14. Web site: 2022-08-30 . 47 Kilometer bei Nacht durch den Pazifik . 47 kilometres at night through the Pacific . 2023-03-27 . www.giessener-allgemeine.de . Giessener Allgemeine . de.
15. Web site: Munatones . Steven . 2019-08-05 . Nathalie Pohl Survives, Swims And Smiles Across Tsugaru Channel . 2023-03-27 . www.openwaterswimming.com . World Open Water Swimming Association . en-US.
16. Web site: Breitenquerung . 2023-03-27 . www.bodenseequerung.de.
17. Web site: 2017-07-24 . Marburger Freiwasserschwimmerin beim 29. Cross-continental Swimming Race: Nathalie Pohl erzielt weiteren Erfolg am Bosporus . Marburg open water swimmer at the 29th Cross-continental Swimming Race: Nathalie Pohl achieves another success on the Bosporus . 2023-03-28 . presseportal.de . Presseportal . de.
18. News: 2022-07-11 . Einsatz für mehr Sicherheit im Wasser . de . Commitment for more safety in the water . 19 . Oberhessische Presse.
19. Web site: 2020-06-14 . DVAG Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG: Menschen brauchen Menschen / Langfristige Kooperation der Deutschen Vermögensberatung und Tafel Deutschland . DVAG Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG: People need people / Long-term cooperation between Deutsche Vermögensberatung and Tafel Germany . 2023-03-27 . ga.de . General-Anzeiger . de.
20. Web site: 2021-09-08 . Schwimmen lernen? Ja, sicher! . 2023-03-27 . marburgertafel.de . Die Tafel Marburg e.V. . de-DE.