Kinesiology Alumnus Sean Bannon ’24 Swims the English Channel
He became one of 1,910 people in the Channel’s recorded history to achieve the 21-mile journey solo.
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For Sean Bannon ’24, achieving his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology as a Commonwealth Honors College student while working in a research lab was a goal. Becoming a Rising Researcher his junior year, then a 21st Century Leader and the SPHHS senior recognition ceremony student speaker as a senior weren’t exactly goals, but rather rewards that took him pleasantly by surprise while on that journey.
Accomplishments such as these might be justification for taking a break and catching your breath post-graduation. Not for Bannon. There was one more course he wanted to complete—The English Channel.
On June 29, 2024, on the coast of France near Calais, Bannon joined the ranks of an elite group of swimmers who completed the legendary crossing of the English Channel from Dover, England. In his time of 15 hours and two minutes, he became one of 1,910 people in the Channel’s recorded history to achieve the 21-mile journey solo.
“It was a bit slower than I desired. Around hour 10 the tides began to change, and the real fight was just about to start…. I fought hard the last 5 hours, determined to reach land,” said Bannon, who completed the open swim without a wetsuit.
According to the Channel Swimming Association (CSA) website, more people have climbed Mount Everest than swam the English Channel—2,932 successful cross-channel swims to-date, which includes solos and relays. The site also notes swimmers have crossed the Channel in as little as seven hours and as long as 27 hours.
Throughout his senior year at UMass Amherst, Bannon submerged himself in rigorous training workouts for seven months, spending hours in the Boyden and Hicks pools as well as in frigid New England waters. But the Channel and its notoriously unpredictable weather and conditions were difficult to prepare for.
Bannon noted other challenges, including the Channel’s cold temps, relentless currents and tides, stinging jellyfish and enormous commerce ships—the Channel is one the busiest shipping lanes in the world; approximately 400 ships pass through daily.
“This achievement serves as an inspiration to the UMass community, demonstrating that with perseverance and dedication, no goal is too far out of reach,” Bannon said.
Bannon is not taking a breather anytime soon as he prepares for the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, which includes the 20-mile Catalina Channel in California and the 28.5-mile Manhattan Island Marathon Swim.