Taiwan's Hsu Wen-erh abandons solo swim around Manhattan Island

Taipei, Oct. 21 (CNA) Taiwan's Hsu Wen-erh (許汶而) abandoned an attempted solo swim around Manhattan Island on Sunday, falling short in her first bid to complete an open water swimming challenge known as the "triple crown."

In a Facebook post, the 30-year-old said she was delayed by strong currents early on, causing her to miss a tidal current she needed to catch to complete the swim.

Hsu was taking part in the "20 Bridges" swim, a 48.5-kilometer counter-clockwise loop around Manhattan Island organized by the nonprofit organization New York Open Water.

According to tracking data provided by the organizer, Hsu swam 14.07 km in 3 hours and 50 minutes.

After starting her swim near Pier A in Battery Park, Hsu rounded the bottom tip of Manhattan and made her way up the East River past the north end of Roosevelt Island, where a strong tidal current started pushing her backwards.

"This is part of open water swimming. There are many factors that can't be controlled," Hsu told CNA after the event.

"That's the power of nature. To complete these challenges, you need things to align just right," she said. "But I'll be back [to try again] very soon."

If Hsu were to complete the 20 bridges swim, she would become the first Taiwanese swimmer, and one of only 333 people worldwide, to achieve the so-called "triple crown" of open water swimming.

Hsu has completed the two other swims in the triple crown -- the 33 km English Channel swim on July 20 and the 32.5 km Catalina Channel swim off the coast of Southern California on Aug. 28 -- both firsts for a Taiwanese athlete.

The triple crown of open water swimming is considered a lifetime achievement, and does not have to be completed in the same year.