The dolphins scared a Great White shark away during the marathon swim

Apr 25, 2014 13:09 GMT  ·  By

Long-distance swimmer Adam Walker has a great story to tell his grandchildren when he's old as he went through an incredible experience on Tuesday when he was protected from a Great White shark by a pod of dolphins that surrounded him.

According to Daily Mail, the British sportsman was swimming across the Cook Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand when he spotted a six-foot (1.82-meter) shark beneath him. He already had enough to worry about when he began the audacious adventure into the freezing waters of the ocean, but in that moment he feared for his safety.

Luckily enough, he was quickly joined by a pack of ten dolphins who kept the Great White at bay and stayed with him for more than an hour. Interestingly though, the shark never attempted an attack while he crossed the 16-mile (26-km) strait and took off at one point.

It is not clear whether the dolphins simply wanted to join in the fun or were actually protecting the swimmer from the shark, but it was definitely an impressive sight to see.

“It would be a nice thought they were thinking, we will just help our pal get through. [...] I’d like to think they were protecting me and guiding me home. This swim will stay with me forever,” Walker said after he successfully finished the marathon swim that took him eight hours and 36 minutes to complete.

The crossing of the Cook Strait is the marathon swimmer's sixth stage out of seven oceans he has to conquer. He is currently undertaking the “Ocean's Seven,” which will see him cross some of the world's best known straits and channels, including the Irish Channel, the Cook Strait, the Molokai Channel, the English Channel, the Cataline Channel, the Tsugaru Strait and the Strait of Gibraltar.

After completing the swim, the athlete wrote the following message on his Facebook account: “Yesterday I swam the 6th of the ‘oceans seven’ swims ‘Cook Strait’ in 8 hours 36 mins. But that doesn't tell the whole story rolling waves, big currents but more important than that a dream come true swimming with dolphins over an hour!!”

Through these adventurous marathons, Walker is raising money for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

Dolphins have saved swimmers from sharks in other occasions in the past. In 2004, for instance, a group of four swimmers were protected from a 10-foot (3-metre) shark by a pod of dolphins which encircled them just off of a New Zealand beach.