Ever wonder what it takes to swim from Northern Ireland to Scotland—alone, at 15? Ask Oscar Black.
The teen from Lurgan, County Armagh, just became the youngest person ever to complete the grueling North Channel swim solo.
Starting from the Gobbins and landing at Portpatrick, Oscar took on freezing waters, relentless tides, and jellyfish stings—20 of them.
It was over an exhausting 16 hours and 38 minutes.
Though the straight-line distance is 35km (21.7 miles), strong currents dragged him off course.
This stretched his total swim to 46km (28.5 miles).
How Challenging Was It?
“There were moments I thought, why am I doing this?” Oscar told the BBC.
But quitting? Not an option. “It was more of a mental challenge than a physical one.”
Support swimmer Jessika Robson swam alongside Oscar when he started veering off-course. “It was very emotional,” she said.
“He just needed to know someone was there.”
And just when he thought he was done—standing on Scottish shore, exhausted—Oscar learned he had to swim back to the boat.
Why? The water was too shallow for docking.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he laughed. Exhausted, yes. But also triumphant.
In the end, Oscar didn’t just swim a channel—he crossed into history.
