Bridgette Hobart Janeczko Makes Its 102 For Triple
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Bridgette Hobart Janeczko became the 102nd person in history to achieve the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming with her 13 hour 28 minute crossing of the English Channel yesterday.
It came after her disappointing attempt in early July when jellyfish got the better of her.
“Before my blanket of jellyfish encounter [when] we’re about halfway between England and France, we ran into the jellies,” explained the Half Century Club member. “There was no way to avoid them because on every side of the boat it was all he saw.
And then it didn’t. I went from feeling on top of my game, to clueless where I was even swimming in minutes. I read over and over, it then comes down to luck. There are so many variables – temps, weather, sea sickness, just a bad body day, injury. Jellies – honestly, never gave them a thought and when I spotted my first one I recall thinking huh, jellies in the channel – thought they liked warmer water. I’m so much like my Mom – she said the same thing when I talked with her! Then I was fascinated by my close up shots and wished I had a camera.
I last remember swimming through what seemed like endless jellies and thinking wow, so many and so cool. I felt the stings and said, ‘Wow, not as bad as Tampa, must be because I’m numb from the cold temps.’ That thought made me giggle as felt I was making the best of the temps. My core was warm, my limbs numb and fortunately I never experienced shivering until I exited. I swam on and then suddenly I felt drugged, then my left side of my body was doing its own thing and I recall trying to focus to swim through it but was really disoriented.”
But she came back to the Channel and came back very successfully with her 13 hour 28 minute swim.
She also completed the 28.5-mile Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in 8 hours 50 minutes and the 20.2-mile Catalina Channel in 11 hours 27 minutes, both in 2012, among several other ocean, river and open water swims across the United States.
Copyright © 2014 by World Open Water Swimming Association
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.
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