Recently, Sarah Thomas became the first person to swim the English Channel four times in a row, without stopping. This is certainly an incredible feat, though it also strikes me as more than a little ridiculous. Then there’s the fact that the distance covered was just a wee bit higher than strictly necessary:

It should have been a total distance of about 80 miles (129 km) but the tidal pulls in the Channel increased the distance by more than 60%, meaning she ended up swimming nearly 130 miles (209 km).

That is a lot of extra swimming. Thomas could’ve gone crossed two more full times, on an optimal route.