Former Rugby player and famed triathlete Stephen Redman will now attempt to etch his name in the record books by crossing the Ocean's Seven. If the Irishman succeeds, he will be the first athlete to complete marathon swimming's ultimate challenge.

Modeled after the Seven Summits-- a climbing challenge up the highest mountain on each continent-- the Ocean's Seven requires swimmers to cross seven daunting channels around the world: the English Channel (between England and France), the North Channel (between Scotland and Ireland), the Catalina Channel (between Catalina Island and mainland Southern California), the Molokai Channel (between Oahu and Molokai islands in Hawaii), the Tsugaru Channel (between Honshu and Hokkaido islands in Japan), the Cook Strait (between North and South islands in New Zealand) and the Strait of Gibraltar (between Spain and Morocco).

So far, Redmond has crossed the English Channel in 20-hours and 1-minute, the Catalina Channel in 12-hours and 39-minutes, the Strait of Gibraltar in 5-hours, and is one of the few swimmers to successfully cross the North Channel between Scotland and Ireland in 17-hours and 17-minutes. Bear in mind that Thompson crossed the North Channel in a speedo, where the water temperature never reaches higher than 55F (13C).

With four of the seven straits completed, Redmond will now take on the Cook Strait. On his Facebook page, Redmond recently posted "The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."

If his level of intensity is any indication of his swimming prowess, Redmond is likely to accomplish his goal of completing the Ocean's Seven. "Marathon swimming is about as close as you can get to death while you are alive here on Earth" said Redmond. "You lose all sense of perception while you are swimming in such difficult conditions."

Here's video of Redmond after he finished the frigid crossing of the North Channel:



Redmond discusses his latest crossing of the Catalina Channel: