 The conditions were so dreadful that none of the other swimmers was able to finish the race.In 2000, 32 years after his first Channel success and at the age of 51, he completed his 32nd crossing of the English Channel in a time of 15 hours 10mins, a time faster than his very first crossing in 1968.He thereby became King of the Channel, setting a new record for the most successful Channel swims by a man.