A Co Down teenager has become the youngest person to complete the Irish Triple Crown swimming challenge.
Jessika Robson (18) swam from Fastnet Lighthouse to Baltimore Pier in Co Cork in gruelling conditions this week.
It was the final leg of the three-part challenge, during which she set new records in two swims.
Jessika, from Annahilt, only took up sea swimming during lockdown.
But she is now the youngest person to complete the Triple Crown of solo marathon swims.
Jessika Robson during this week’s swim
Last September Jessika took on the North Channel swim from Donaghadee to Scotland – at the time the youngest person to do so.
Then in July she completed the 10km Galway bay swim, setting a course record.
Her latest swim off the Cork coastline spanned 21km and was completed in six hours and 58 minutes on Monday.
Jessika, who has been swimming competitively since she was eight, began sea swimming four years ago.
“It was during the lockdown and no pools were open and I was getting agitated, so I wanted some form of water,” she said.
“Me and my mum decided to go to the sea and just go for a swim. I really enjoyed it and just kept going.”
Jessika, who swims for Lisburn City Swimming Club, trains with the Lough Neagh Monster Dunkers.
She explained that this week’s swim was her toughest yet.
“It started at the Fastnet Lighthouse which is 21km off the coast, and I had to swim from the lighthouse into Baltimore in Cork,” she added.
“The conditions were gruelling – it was horrendous.
“On the way out, everyone was starting to get sea-sick because the waves were just so big.
“We sat at the lighthouse for 30 minutes before I could go. Eventually it calmed down a little bit and I thought ‘I’ve just got to go’.
“So I jumped in and I was pushed towards the rocks – it was quite scary.
“During the entire swim, the waves were big – it felt like you were swimming one stroke forward and three strokes backwards.
“It was very tough – they are the toughest conditions I’ve ever swum in, 100%.”
Jessika Robson claimed the record for the youngest person to swim solo across the North Channel last summer.
To complete the Triple Crown challenge, she had to follow Irish Long Distance Swimming Association rules.
These included swimming solo and not touching the boat tracking her journey, which meant taking a novel approach to consuming food during the seven-hour swim.
Jessika explained: “My liquid feeds were on a bottle that they just chucked to me on a rope.
“The solid feeds were in this cup, duck-taped to a stick, which they lowered to me.”
Jessika’s next challenge will be competing for Team GB in the World Ice Swimming Championships in Molveno, Italy, in January.
The swimming competition takes place in extremely cold conditions – the water has to be under 5C.
Jessika says she enjoys taking on unusual challenges.
“Everyone has asked me why I do the swims and I can’t answer it,” she added.
“I enjoy it when it’s done, and enjoy the feeling of it and knowing that I can do it. It’s that sense of accomplishment.”
Her mum Kelly said: “I’m so proud of Jessika, it’s been an incredible year for her.
“She got the world record for being the youngest person to do the North Channel last summer – that’s actually just been broken now by one of her friends, Daniel Smyth, but she still holds the world record as the youngest female to do it.
“With the Triple Crown, although we know she’s the youngest, it’s not like a recognised record, so she can’t get a world record for it.”