Rob Lea swam Japan's Tsugaru Strait on Tuesday, June 30, covering what the Park Record reported as nearly 30 miles through 5-mph currents over just under 12 hours to complete both the Oceans Seven and the Seven Summits.
The 45-year-old Park City native entered the water just after 4 a.m. and reached a beach on Hokkaido just before 4 p.m., finishing a 17-year, 14-quest project he calls the "Double Seven." Lea and his team say he is the first person to complete both challenges. No independent governing body has verified the claim.
"Oh my god, I'm on Hokkaido," Lea said in a video posted to his Instagram account from the beach. "That was really hard. I can't believe I did it. I am so glad to be done with that swim."
The Oceans Seven requires swimmers to cross seven open-water channels nonstop and without wetsuits, including the English Channel, the Strait of Gibraltar, and the Molokai Channel in Hawaii. The Seven Summits demands climbing the highest peak on each continent. Lea's version of the list includes Everest, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Antarctica's Vinson Massif, Puncak Jaya in Indonesia, Aconcagua in Argentina, and Mont Blanc along the French-Italian border, which he completed in 2026.
Lea's quest began in 2009 with a climb of Aconcagua and accelerated after he formalized the goal around 2020. He had attempted the Tsugaru crossing in 2023 but was pulled from the water after falling behind the 14-hour time limit. This time, his support crew fed and rehydrated him via a retractable dog leash lowered from the boat while a kayaker escorted him through the final stretch to shore.
Park City roots
Lea grew up in Park City after his parents, Jim and Cindy Lea, moved there in 1975. He won individual state swimming titles at Park City High School and was voted most athletic in his senior class of 1999. He swam at UC Davis before returning home to work as a Deer Valley Resort lift operator and swim instructor, then joined his father in real estate at Berkshire Hathaway Utah Properties in 2005.
His father, Jim Lea, described his son's childhood drive in an interview with the Park Record: "I don't necessarily mean to use the term daredevil, but he was always looking for challenges."
Lea won the half Ironman world championship for men ages 30-34 in 2012. In 2019, he climbed Everest, swam the English Channel, and biked across the United States within five months.
His wife, Park City ski mountaineer Caroline Gleich, joined him on five of his seven summit climbs after they met in 2014 and was on the support boat for five of the seven channel swims. Lea trains at the Mountain Recreation Center in Park City and in the Jordanelle Reservoir. He and Gleich credited Park City's community of elite athletes and high-altitude training environment for pushing his performance.
What's next
Lea and Gleich are training for the New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 1, running across Park City in preparation.
