Byron Dillon Remembers The First Swim Around Midmar Dam
“I would swim for 20 minutes and then the escort boat would come by and give me something to drink and eat,” explained Byron Dillon about his 42 km perimeter swim around the Midmar Dam back in 2006. “And then it would go off again and set buoys or help the relays.”This went on for 11 hours 37 minutes as Dillon completed the first solo swim around the dam in Pietermaritzburg in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
“But then towards the end, they missed a few of my feeds, so when I got out, I was hungry. 18 hard-boiled eggs and a few sandwiches later, I was back to normal,” he smiled in recollection.
“It was the first time that I swam over 10 km. The long swim really played on my mind. Swimming by myself in the shadows of the lake, I kept thinking large fish or even sharks were going to get me, even though I knew it was a [fresh-water] reservoir.”
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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