Great Swims In The Great Lakes
Great Swims In Great Lakes
Courtesy of WOWSA, Great Lakes.Josh Heynes swam 24.3 miles across Lake Erie two times, five years apart.
In 2006, he finished his first swim in the Great Lakes in 11 hours 53 minutes to set the record. It was subsequently beaten by Randy McElwain who lowered the bar across Lake Erie to 11 hours 23 minutes.
But Heynes came back in 2011 to regain the record in an 11 hour 16 minute effort from Long Point in Ontario, Canada to North East Township’s Freeport Beach in Pennsylvania, United States.
“This was a lot tougher than the first time. I was taking in too much water, and my stomach couldn’t handle it. More cramping came in, but we fought through it, and my team kept pushing me. I got real sick six miles in. I didn’t think I was going to make it. Around mile nine, I was ready to call it quits, but the team stuck through and pushed me along. We got better and hung in there. We kept pushing and pushing.
It’s not just for me, it’s their record, too. Without those [five escort kayakers] pushing me as hard as they did, I probably wouldn’t be here right now.”
Heynes spent 10 months, training more than 2,400 hours and 1,000 miles of swimming for the charity swim that raised money for the John Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation.
Photo of Josh Heynes by Janet Campbell.
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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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