Lewis Pugh was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2010 and the United Nations appointed him as the first UN Patron of the Oceans in 2013.
40 Facts About Lewis Pugh
2.
In 2016 Lewis Pugh played a role in creating the largest marine reserve in the world in the Ross Sea off Antarctica.
3.
Lewis Pugh currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of International Law at the University of Cape Town.
4.
Lewis Pugh was born in Plymouth, England, on 5 December 1969.
5.
Gordon Lewis Pugh, was a surgeon in the Royal Navy, an author, and a prolific collector of ceramics of the Victorian era.
6.
Lewis Pugh's mother, Margery Pugh was a Senior Nursing Sister in Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service.
7.
Lewis Pugh was educated at Mount House School in Tavistock.
8.
Lewis Pugh continued his schooling at St Andrew's College in Grahamstown and later at Camps Bay High School in Cape Town.
9.
Lewis Pugh went on to read politics and law at the University of Cape Town and graduated at the top of his Masters class.
10.
Over a period of 30 years Lewis Pugh has pioneered more swims around famous landmarks than any other swimmer in history.
11.
Lewis Pugh had his first real swimming lesson in 1986, at the age of 17.
12.
Lewis Pugh was the first person to swim around Cape Agulhas, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Cape Peninsula.
13.
Lewis Pugh was the first person to swim across an African Great Lake, namely Lake Malawi.
14.
Lewis Pugh became the first person to swim around the infamous North Cape, the northernmost point in Europe.
15.
In November 2017, Lewis Pugh became be the first person to swim in the Antarctic waters around South Georgia Island.
16.
Lewis Pugh coined the phrase "anticipatory thermo-genesis".
17.
Noakes argues it is a Pavlovian Response to years of cold water swimming, while Lewis Pugh believes it is a response to fear.
18.
In 2006 Lewis Pugh challenged Russia's top cold water swimmers to a 500-metre race at the World Winter Swimming Championships in Finland.
19.
Lewis Pugh easily won the gold medal, beating Russian Champion Alexander Brylin by over 100 metres and the bronze medalist Nefatov Vladimir by 125 metres.
20.
In 2006 Lewis Pugh achieved the "Holy Grail" of swimming by becoming the first person to complete a long-distance swim in all five oceans of the world.
21.
Lewis Pugh undertook the swim to draw attention to the severe drought in England and the dangers of global warming.
22.
In February 2007 Lewis Pugh became the first person to swim across the width of the Maldives.
23.
Lewis Pugh undertook the swim to raise awareness about the effect of climate change on low-lying islands in the world.
24.
In July 2007 Lewis Pugh undertook the first long-distance swim across the Geographic North Pole.
25.
Lewis Pugh stated that despite several attempts, they were unable to find a gap in the ice.
26.
Lewis Pugh has twice spoken at the TED Global Conference and is described on their website as a "master story-teller".
27.
Lewis Pugh has addressed the World Economic Forum at their annual meeting in Davos.
28.
Lewis Pugh gave the keynote addresses at Coca-Cola's 125th anniversary in 2011, Lloyd's Agency Network's 200th anniversary in 2011, and Swiss Re's 150th anniversary in 2013.
29.
Lewis Pugh's father was present at the first British atomic bomb test in 1952 and a number of subsequent tests.
30.
In 2003 Lewis Pugh left his maritime law practice to campaign full-time for the protection of the oceans.
31.
In 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Lewis Pugh took the evidence of witnesses from across Africa on the effects of climate change at the Pan-African Climate and Poverty Hearings.
32.
In 2008 Lewis Pugh founded the Polar Defense Project to campaign for greater protection for the Arctic and a resolution of the maritime boundary disputes.
33.
Lewis Pugh was outspoken on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, calling for the criminal prosecution of top BP executives in a feature in Business Day.
34.
Lewis Pugh opposes fracking for gas in the Karoo region of South Africa.
35.
Lewis Pugh made a public speech to Royal Dutch Shell in 2011 entitled "Standing up to Goliath".
36.
In 2018 Lewis Pugh was listed as the 3rd most influential person in the world discussing how to tackle plastic pollution on social media.
37.
Lewis Pugh has been featured by Dr Sanjay Gupta on Vital Signs on CNN, ADN on France 2, Carte Blanche and Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
38.
In 2009 Lewis Pugh starred in Robson Green's Wild Swimming Adventure where he trained the English actor to swim across the icy waters of Llyn Llydaw, a lake on Snowdon in Wales.
39.
In 2013 Lewis Pugh wrote a second book entitled "21 Yaks and a Speedo".
40.
In 2009 Lewis Pugh married Antoinette Malherbe, whom he met at school.