Extreme swimmer André Wiersig "It has already happened that sharks were interested in me"
André Wiersig is one of the few people to have completed the "Ocean's Seven", the supreme discipline of extreme swimmers. The family man sees himself more as an environmentalist. An interview.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- At first glance,André Wiersig doesn't look like an extreme swimmer.
- At 52, the German is a little too old, and the father of three carries around a little too much weight on his ribs.
- But that makes his achievements in the world's oceans even more astonishing.
- The question remains: what drives this man?
André Wiersig is the first German swimmer to complete the "Ocean's Seven".
Dressed only in swimming trunks, he swam the Cook Strait off New Zealand, the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland, the English Channel, the Kaiwi Channel in Hawaii, the Tsugaru Strait between the northern Japanese main islands and the Santa Catalina Channel in California, despite freezing temperatures, strong currents, waves as high as houses and dangerous animals.
What drives the man? The three-part documentary "Man of the Ocean" accompanies environmentalist Wiersig on new projects - to be seen from Sunday, April 13, 3.45 p.m., one episode per week, or from now on in the ZDF media library.
André Wiersig, you swim in the open ocean. Are the waves there dangerous?
Yes and no. Up to a certain height, you swim with the waves. But many people don't know that: Even swimmers can get seasick. As a beach vacationer, you only know high waves from one direction in stormy seas. They crash against the land. But if you are swimming in the open sea, the waves come from all sides. From the front and back, right and left. From below, from above and when they crash together, you sometimes fly through the area. It can be very exhausting. Nevertheless, I love the whole thing. It's this sea that I want to feel.
You don't just tackle your projects for yourself, you also want to achieve something ...
I want to give people the opportunity to change their perspective. That the sea is not just a beautiful backdrop that you look at from the land, but that there is a huge, exciting organism living next to us. An organism that is wild and untamed, which scares us, but above all is beautiful.
What are the biggest challenges of long-distance swimming without a wetsuit?
The cold is the hardest. For example, when I swam across the Irish Sea, from Ireland to Scotland. The water was 13 degrees. Swimming in it for many hours is definitely out of your comfort zone. The salt water in itself also wears you out. All your mucous membranes are broken, your nose hurts, actually all your orifices. Then there's the current. Currents are changing massively due to climate change. We are still far from knowing all the effects. Sometimes you can hardly move for hours. In places where you used to be able to swim relatively undisturbed by the current.
What about dangerous animals?
Poisonous jellyfish can be very unpleasant, especially without neoprene. I've also encountered whales and, of course, sharks. They are usually rather shy, but it has happened that sharks have taken an interest in me. Nothing has happened so far. But they are special encounters with a thrill. Sometimes it's just absurd when you come across schools of mackerel or tuna and simply swim through them.
What is the most dangerous thing?
I think it's the combination of exhaustion and cold. You give up a lot of control and operate at the limits of what the human body can handle. Sometimes you're on the verge of unconsciousness, which is why my accompanying team - despite all the wonderful experiences we've had together - is also quite tense. For me, it's about fear. You move around, which is distracting.
Is there a lower temperature limit and a distance limit where you would say: You simply can't swim in colder water or a further distance?
The question remains unanswered because people keep pushing these limits. I once swam for six hours in water that was almost ten degrees cold. I almost had an accident that day. The only way to answer your question about where the limit is is to swim until you're no longer alive. Your body is already on high alert when you jump into such cold water, and after five minutes you can feel your body going into panic mode. Then it helps if you stay confident. If you think about what you've already achieved. But of course, there are limits that I won't be able to cross. But I know that too.
Now you've talked about temperatures, but not about distances. How far can a person swim?
Here, too, limits are constantly being pushed ...
Diane Nyad swam 177 kilometers across the strait between Cuba and Florida in 53 hours, as seen in the Netflix film "Nyad". But you can only do that in warm water, right?
I know Diane personally, and of course she's incredible. Sure, at water temperatures of 15, 16 degrees or warmer, a person can swim for a very long time. If they are trained and manage their strength well. Or take Jonas Deichmann, who has just set this world record by completing 120 Ironman distances in 120 days. All things where you would say beforehand: something like that is impossible. But, as I said, chasing records is not my thing. I see myself as a normal guy who wants to inspire people with the beauty of the ocean. This "anything is possible" thing, which Diane also stands for, is not really my thing.
You were born in Bochum and have been living in Paderborn for a long time as a family man. None of that sounds like the sea. Doesn't being a "Man of the Ocean" mean you're in constant withdrawal?
As a child, I devoured everything that had to do with the sea. Back then, Jacques Cousteau's films were on TV - my absolute favorite program. Also, every big family vacation was by the sea when I was a child. You can do swimming training even if you don't live by the sea. The rest just fell into place.
That I became a UN ambassador for the sea or that island states call me in the middle of the night because they have forgotten the time zones and are desperate because they are alienated from the sea. They just call me "Man of the Ocean" because they can't remember my real name. Then they say: "Man of the Ocean", can't you do something to help us?
And then you do that?
I help whenever I can. And never for money, but self-financed so that I don't become dependent on anyone or serve commercial interests. I'm also against always talking everything down and constantly pointing a warning finger. Of course, terrible things are being done to the sea and the whole earth. But it's off-putting and frustrating if you overload people with too much guilt and negativity. Instead, I try to arouse fascination and interest in this exciting place, the sea.
You used to work as an IT manager, but now you work full-time on ocean issues. How do you finance this?
Mainly through lectures. When I'm not involved in a swimming project, I travel around and talk about what I do. At the invitation of companies or institutions. That's what I do for a living. It used to be pretty stressful, with a job, family and swimming. The "Ocean's Seven" campaign cost me half a fortune. My wife was anything but enthusiastic.
What are the sponsors of your lectures most interested in?
I can't tell you that, because they buy me and my thing. Of course, I also talk about topics such as motivation, responsibility and pushing boundaries. But it's also about reconciling sustainability and profitability. There are wonderful examples of this. We need a successful economy and also the energy of the people to push through the will for more sustainability. When people are in a bad way, they are afraid and the water is up to their necks, they don't think about the environment first.
Can you relate to the terms hero, superman or role model?
Wiersig: The first two terms are completely wrong for me. I see myself as a completely normal, average person who shares his enthusiasm. A guy who is 52, weighs a few kilos too much and carries around a wrinkled face. I am anything but an idol or superhuman. I only want to be a role model in the sense that people can get to know and love the sea better through me. And, of course, that we should take responsibility for our environment. Not as a chore or out of a sense of guilt, but because we live on a fascinating planet, in a beautiful world.
