16-year-old Emma Otto-Moudry of Ithaca, New York set a new record in the Lake Willoughby Swim in Vermont, U.S.A.

A perfect day in the heart of the summer in the heart of the Northeast Kingdom was the site of the future and current star of one of the most majestic lakes in North America.

Emma, the winner of the affiliated Kingdom Swim, along with the other athletes, kayakers and volunteers enjoyed the pristine, spring-fed water amid the towering cliffs above and the 400 feet of pristine water below. The race was a stroke-for-stroke competition that was a joy to witness.

Charlotte Brynn, 45, the defending champion from New Zealand, swam side-by-side, stroke-for-stroke during the first three miles with Emma. But the youngster and her kayaker Donald Houghton pulled away, setting a new record of 1:53:39, impressively smashing the old record by 17 minutes.

Charlotte finished three minutes later with a time of 1:56:36. In third place was cold-water channel veteran Elaine Kornbau Howley in 2:19:24.

All three women will be swimming the 26-mile length of Lake Memphremagog on the weekend of September 11th. The trio will challenge themselves in In Search of Memphre, an international swim to promote a more open border with Canada and to fundraise for IROC, a sports, fitness, and recreation center.

On the men’s side, 45-year-old David Uprichard from New York won the men’s non-wetsuit division with a time of 2:11:07 for third overall. Not far behind him were Victor Yannessa (55) in 2:36:53) and Ernie Ruskey in 2:42:17.

The cool and pristine waters of the Northeast Kingdom lakes are perfect for open water swimmers who regularly do ocean swims in 6060.8°F (16°C) or below. But wetsuits make lakes like Willoughby accessible and swimable for many who would otherwise not consider undertaking this kind of a swim.

Natalie Griffith completed the swim in 1:52:30 and was the overall wetsuit winner. Not far behind 29-year-old Natalie was the male winner of the wetsuit division, 66-year-old Clifford Pollard with a time of 2:13:40.

Report courtesy of Phil White and Katy Murray.

Copyright © 2011 by World Open Water Swimming Association