A World-First Solo Ultra-Endurance Swim

United by Water

United Arab Emirates

120km · 30-40 Hours · November 2026

The Swim

On 2 December 1971, the UAE’s founding fathers gathered at Union House in Dubai and signed the agreement that united a nation. Fifty-five years on, a single swimmer will enter the water at that same flag and not stop until she reaches Abu Dhabi.
 
United by Water is a world-first ultra-endurance open-water swim: 120 km across open Gulf waters, completed solo in swimsuit, cap and goggles only, expected to take between 30 and 40 continuous hours. It is a world-first swim with no precedent in UAE sporting history.

But beyond the record, this is a national moment, a platform for community, and a story built to travel far beyond the waters it crosses.

Courage and bravery change everything.

– Joanne Norman

Campaign Pillars

This event goes far beyond one athlete in the water. It is a movement that invites every family, school, community and individual across the UAE to be part of something historic. United by Water is a shared journey of courage, inclusion and national pride, and it belongs to everyone who chooses to be part of it.

“United we stand, Pride of a Nation!”

Swim the Distance Together

Schools across the UAE collectively log 120 km, symbolically covering the full route, encouraging inclusivity and school participation.

Environmental Awareness

Working with local communities to raise awareness of protected marine areas, promoting coastal stewardship and engaging participants through shoreline conservation initiatives and environmental activities.

UAE Year of Family 2026

“United by Water” celebrates the UAE’s Year of Family through inclusivity, bringing families and communities of all backgrounds together, strengthening the bonds of unity that lie at the heart of this great nation.

“United we stand, Pride of a Nation!”

The woman behind the swim

Joanne Norman is an elite ultra-endurance open-water swimmer who has called the UAE home for more than 16 years. In March 2026, she made history as the first Australian woman and the first Abu Dhabi resident to complete the Oceans Seven, a series of seven of the world’s most demanding open-water channel crossings. Only 43 swimmers worldwide have ever finished it. Joanne is the 15th woman and the 6th Australian to have done so.

Her seven crossings span four continents and every kind of extreme the ocean can produce: the English Channel, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Catalina Channel, the Cook Strait, the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland, the Tsugaru Strait in Japan, and the Molokai Channel in Hawaii. The North Channel crossing set a record as the latest-ever successful solo attempt. The Gibraltar crossing ranks as the second-fastest ever by an Australian. The Molokai Channel, the longest and most dangerous of the seven at 42 km, was completed in March 2026 after Joanne was bitten by a cookie-cutter shark during her first attempt the previous year, 10 km from the finish. She came back. She finished. 

United by Water is the next chapter: a swim that goes beyond anything the Oceans Seven demanded.

Read the full story: the shark bite, the record-breaking crossings, and what drives her

A story built to travel

Joanne’s Oceans Seven completion already proved her story travels: it earned coverage across UAE national media, international endurance publications and business press, reaching audiences as far as Australia and Japan, with the Sydney Morning Herald picking up her Molokai comeback.

United by Water puts that same track record on a far bigger stage. As a world-first swim anchored to the UAE’s founding landmark, it’s expected to draw interest from tier one UAE outlets, international endurance and specialist sports media, business and leadership publications, and documentary production teams, the kind of reach her earlier swims have already shown she can command.

The campaign itself is built for that scale: rather than one moment of coverage at the finish, it’s designed to build from the announcement all the way through to the swim’s completion, keeping the story in view for months rather than days.

And the platform doesn’t stop there. Beyond November 2026, Joanne is already in demand as a keynote speaker at corporate events across the UAE and internationally, is pursuing a TEDx talk, and is writing a children’s book series inspired by her Oceans Seven journey, proof that this story was never going to end the moment she touches the wall in Abu Dhabi.

Be part of something that has never been done before.

United by Water is looking for partners and sponsors who want to be part of this moment. By partnering with United by Water, companies gain a powerful platform to amplify their brand, forge meaningful community connections, and align with the UAE’s values of inclusivity and togetherness, making a lasting impact that goes far beyond business. Whether you represent a brand whose values align with resilience and national pride, or an organisation that wants to stand alongside something historic, there is a place for you in this story.

Become a sponsor

Follow Jo’s Journey