Aside from the physical toll, he said time has been the biggest sacrifice.
“Training equals a lot of time away from my friends, family, work and other commitments in my life. (Those) had to take a backseat in the about eight to 10 months of training so far,” he said.
The three marathon swims require immense strength and stamina. They also present vastly different challenges in terms of conditions, logistics and swim experience.
Swimmers have to navigate strong tidal currents, busy shipping lanes and marine life such as jellyfish.
The Catalina Channel leg of the swim in the Pacific Ocean also requires a night start due to tides and wind patterns that are stronger in the afternoons.
FUNDRAISING FOR CHARITY
The swim will mark Dr Chua’s second major fundraising effort for St Luke’s.
In 2023, he raised S$250,000 after completing the 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim in New York, during which he braved fog and hailstorm. The challenge took seven days over a total distance of 193km.
Prior to that, Dr Chua served in St Luke’s dementia ward as part of his residency training during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The hospital staff took me under their wing to mentor me. I really wish to repay in some way or another,” he told CNA’s Singapore Tonight programme.
“A lot of these personal challenges, as much as they fulfil me, it’s much more fulfilling to be able to give back to the community. Fundraising for a cause spurs me to (do) as much as possible within my physical limits.”
The community hospital in Bukit Batok is dedicated to the care of seniors.
As Singapore approaches super-aged status next year – with more than one in five expected to be aged 65 or older – the demand for senior healthcare is growing rapidly.
Mr Kelvin Lee, St Luke’s head of corporate communications and partnerships, said funds from Dr Chua’s swim will help enhance integrated and comprehensive care for the hospital’s patients.
“(These are) namely in the areas of rehabilitation care, wound care, dementia care and end-of-life care, for both in-patients as well as home care services,” he said.
Mr Lee added that as people age, they face increasing rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, as well as the complications that arise from them.
With more seniors living on their own in Singapore, and more caregivers getting older, complex social issues are expected to grow and more help will be needed to handle them, he noted.
“(St Luke’s) mission resonates with me deeply,” said Dr Chua.
“During the three swims, I’m also going to be enduring long, quiet swims, sometimes in the night, oftentimes more than 10 hours. And I think that’s my way of showing solidarity to the patients who have to endure long, difficult roads and oftentimes alone.”
To date, the dedicated fundraising page on the give.asia platform has garnered almost S$400,000 in donations.
Dr Chua also hopes to be the first Singaporean to complete the Oceans Seven in the future. It is an even more ambitious marathon challenge comprising seven open water channel swims.
His upcoming Triple Crown swim will consist two of them and the rest are: the North Channel, the Cook Strait, the Molokai Channel, the Tsugaru Strait and the Strait of Gibraltar.
Dr Chua will attempt the Triple Crown between Sep 4 and Sep 20.
