Dan Projansky, 56 Going On 36
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Swimmers are coming from all over the place to participate in the 36-mile (57.9 km) Extreme North Dakota Watersports Endurance Test (END-WET), but none may face the challenge of 56-year-old Dan Projansky.
Swimming 36 miles of butterfly down a slowly meandering river where the current flows downstream up to a leisurely 1 mile per hour is tough. Very tough. But Projansky is preparing for the longest summer of butterfly in his life.
“First, I’m going to attempt 2 out of 4 lake swims in Arizona at the S.C.A.R. Swim Challenge in Arizona. I’ll do all butterfly in the 9-miler (14.4 km) across Canyon Lake and then the 17-miler across Apache Lake fly. In June, I will do the Red River swim (the 56.9 km Extreme North Dakota Watersports Endurance Test), all that butterfly too. Then in August I’ll do the 8-mile (13.2 km) Swim4Freedom in Wisconsin, all fly.“
70 miles…112.6 km…all butterfly…all summer long, not bad for a 56-year-old.
Projansky will be joined in the END-WET from rural North Dakota to East Grand Forks, Minnesota down the mighty Red River of the North with the following individuals:
* Bill Daugherty (71)
* Michael Miller (60)
* Mike Schmidt (60)
* Leonard Jansen (58)
* Stefan Reinke (56)
* Dan Projansky (56 doing it butterfly)
* Patty Hermann (54)
* Suzie Dods (54)
* James Bradford Ursin (54)
* Scott Jensen (53)
* Kathleen Wilson (50)
* Franco Prezioso (48)
* Amanda Hunt (45)
* William G. Murtha (39)
* Shannon Keegan (39)
* Kevin Kopplin (37)
* Carrie Taylor (33)
* Joe Vacek (33)
* Landon Ascheman (33)
* Mary Staples (32)
* Brian Leftwich (32)
* Tim Root (31)
* Sandra Frimerman-Bergquist (30)
* Devon Dear (29)
* Sarah Ann Whitford (28)
* Max Boeckel (21)
* Braydon Love (18)
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.
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