Redmond's challenge hangs in the balance

Steve Redmond, an endurance swimmer from Ballydehob, was forced to abandon his second attempt to swim the 19.5km Tsugaru Strait in Japan on Monday. After starting the difficult swim that morning, Steve was said to have been going well for the first few hours before he was caught in a current which forced him backwards. 

His team had begun the swim from Sai Village on Japan's main island of Honshu over Sunday night and Monday morning and 12 hours later, after little progress had been made due to the current, Steve had to abandon the swim for a second time.

His original attempt had to be abandoned on Friday night.

He is now considering a third attempt to become the first person to complete the epic Seven Oceans challenge. The Ocean's seven include the Irish Channel between Ireland and Scotland, the Cook Strait between the North and South Islands and New Zealand, the Moloka'i Channel between O'ahu and Moloka'i Islands in Hawaii, the English Channel between England and France, the Catalina Channel near Los Angeles and the Strait of Gibralter between Europe and Arica. Steve has completed all six and the Tsugaru Channel is the last channel Steve needs to complete to achieve the feat of becoming the first person to complete the Seven Oceans challenge.

Steve, a former rugby player and triathlete, has become one of the world's hardiest marathon swimmers and he was nominated for the 2011 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year. He was the first person to swim around treacherous Fastnet Rock,  a small island in the Atlantic Ocean and the most southerly point of Ireland.