This past week, Kim Chambers swam the exact same route, starting on the South Island and finishing in the same spot on the North Island in her successful Cook Strait swim.
Incredibly, she also completed the tough crossing in the exact same time as Penny Palfrey did during her April 2006 crossing of the Cook Strait (8 hours 26 minutes).
What are the odds of that happening?
Given the conditions that both women faced, their comparative speed and the common thread in the persona of a coach named Philip Rush, it actually made a bit of sense.
The former ballet dancer from New Zealand who is now working in Silicon Valley with Adobe and swimming with the Night Train Swimmers will now turn her sights to joining a group of men who plan to swim at least one week straight in the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco to Los Angeles along the California coastline.
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.