Pop star turned swim sensation Cody Simpson has shattered a world record as part of a “superteam” on Saturday.
Simpson and Olympic champion Mack Horton were among the team of four that shattered the previous Rottenest Channel Swim record by more than three minutes.
The squad completed the 19.7km swim from Cottesloe Beach to Rottnest Island in three hours, 33 minutes and 49 seconds.
Simpson called it “one of the coolest experiences in [his] life” when he shared the news to Instagram.
“We broke the team swim record after a whole lot of balls out swimming, jellyfish stinging, zinc and Vaseline,” he wrote. “Without prior experience for any of us in open water swimming we couldn’t have done it without an incredible team of skippers, paddlers and boat crew to keep our strategy and our changeovers tight.”
Though Simpson was once a popular musician who toured and collaborated with Justin Bieber, amongst others, in recent years he has been more focused on professional swimming.
In 2020 Simpson qualified for the Olympic trials, but missed out on a place in the Tokyo games by just over a second. Last year, he earned a spot in the Dolphins’ team for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK, where he competed in the 50 metre butterfly, 100 metre butterfly, 4 x 100 metre freestyle relay, and swam the butterfly leg of the 4 x 100 metre medley relay.
Love Pop?
Get the latest Pop news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
Performing at the Melbourne Cup last year, Simpson said he would return to the stage properly once he was done with the pool.
“Music’s still a massive part of my life and I train full time, but everybody needs something to help balance them out, and music for me is just that,” he said. “I still play guitar pretty much every single day to relax, and I certainly will be jumping around back to music once I’m done with the pool.”
He released his first album in six years last year, via his own label Coast House Records and The Orchard.
For now, though, he is happy giving thanks to local radio for the “post-race pies and choccy milk”.
“And a final shout out to the Great Whites for intermittent fasting yesterday morning,” he joked.
