Hsu Wen-erh becomes 1st Taiwanese to swim across Øresund Strait

Taipei, July 16 (CNA) Long-distance swimmer Hsu Wen-erh (許汶而) has become the first Taiwanese person to swim across the Øresund Strait between Sweden and Denmark.

Hsu wrote on Facebook on Tuesday that she began the swim from Barsebäckshamn on the Swedish coast at 8:35 a.m. (Swedish time) with the sea temperature at 19.4 degrees Celsius.

She estimated it took her seven hours and 11 minutes to complete the 20-kilometer distance, though this finishing time has not yet been confirmed by swimming association officials.

According to a post published later that day on her Facebook account "Wen's Swimming Club," the second half of the swim saw increasingly strong wind and waves, which caused Hsu's escort boat to rock and the onboard camera to shake violently.

The post suggested the crashing surf might have been Denmark's "welcome to the first Taiwanese swimmer to cross the Öresund strait."

An official observer from the swimming association was present during the crossing, another post on Hsu's Facebook page said.

Between July and October last year, Hsu completed three major open-water swims: the English Channel, California's Catalina Channel, and a solo swim around Manhattan Island in New York.

She was the first person from Taiwan to achieve all three swims, a feat only about 330 people worldwide have completed.

Hsu has also said she plans to swim from Norway to Sweden later in July and to cross the North Channel from Ireland to Scotland this September.