When Craig Lenning comes down from his mountain perch in Colorado to tackle the oceans of the world, his high-altitude training certainly pays off some sweet dividends.
Lenning has completed 4 of the 7 Oceans Seven to date: North Channel, English Channel, Catalina Channel, and Tsugaru Channel. He has also done ice swims and swims across Lake Tahoe and around Manhattan Island and won the 24-mile Tampa Bay Marathon Swim.
His next stop on the Oceans Seven circuit is coming up between March 18th-24th when he travels to New Zealand and will meet up with Darren Miller, to take on the Cook Strait.
On his escort boat, he will have his wife May and the renowned Philip Rush at the helm as he attempts to cross 16 nm (29.6 km) between the North and South Islands of New Zealand to accomplish his fifth channel of the Oceans Seven.
He has proven himself under all kinds of conditions from ice swims to high-altitude lake swims, so pending moderately favorable conditions, the man from up high is expected to put his head down and calmly cross from one side to the other in the Cook Strait.
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.