Navy medical officer takes on world's longest marathon swim challenge to raise funds for St Luke’s Hospital

SINGAPORE — For the past five months, Dr Chua Jia Long has been bathing with chilled water he kept in his fridge, and soaking himself in a tub filled with ice for at least half an hour.

All this to prepare for a marathon swim event in New York that he is participating in from June 9 to 16, through which he hopes to raise S$25,000 for St Luke’s Hospital.

The 32-year-old medical officer with the Republic of Singapore Navy is hoping to become the first Singaporean to complete the 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim in New York.

Touted to be “the longest marathon swim in the world”, the open-water race is 120 miles (193km) long, approximately the length of Singapore's coastline.

It spans seven days, with a stage held each day requiring participants to swim non-stop for four to six hours.

The swim connects the Rip Van Winkle, Kingston-Rhinecliff, Mid-Hudson, Newburgh-Beacon, Bear Mountain, Tappan Zee, George Washington and Verrazano Narrows bridges.

“I’m confident that I’ll do my very best, this wouldn’t be as fulfilling if there was a 100 per cent chance of success,” Dr Chua told TODAY.

He had wanted to participate in the marathon in June 2020, but it was cancelled due to Covid-19.

However, he remained hopeful and continued his training.

Come June, he will be “closing that chapter of my life that Covid took away from me”, Dr Chua said.

He was attached at St Luke’s Hospital for residency training in 2021, caring for dementia patients, conducting home outreach programmes for the elderly and serving as a home care doctor.

The stint fuelled his desire to participate in the marathon swim.

After seeing first-hand the health effects being confined at home had on elderly folks during the pandemic, Dr Chua hopes that his marathon swim will encourage healthy living and physical activity.

The experience gained at the hospital made him “want to give back”, Dr Chua said.

He is running a fundraising campaign on Give.asia, where all proceeds will be directed towards alleviating the cost of additional subsidies borne by St Luke’s Hospital and reducing out-of-pocket expenses for patients.

PREPARING FOR THE MARATHON SWIM

To prepare for the event, Dr Chua has been training with his swimming club, the ATS Barracudas.

He swims at the club four to five times a week, with additional training on his own to prepare for challenging distances.

Since December, he has been doing four- to six-hour sessions in an indoor pool, on top of regular dry land training, while juggling his full-time work commitments.

Drawing on his experience in the Navy, where he once underwent winter diving training in the United States, Dr Chua understands what he needs to do to prepare his body for the challenge ahead.

To acclimatise to cold temperatures, he showers with chilled water from the fridge.

He also goes on weekly ice baths, submerging his body in a tub filled with ice for at least half an hour each time.

He said that understanding his body’s thresholds is important to make the most effective choices and strategies throughout the marathon.

“I am not a professional athlete. I hope that this inspires people who think of themselves as average, that they can similarly challenge themselves to anything they set their minds to and achieve something great,” Dr Chua added.

He also hopes to inspire people to step forward to help those in need.

“By support in whichever way you prefer, be it a well wish, volunteering at St Luke’s Hospital or giving to any other charity, you have already made a difference in the world,” he said.