I Swim For Vets Across Lake Erie
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Norman Stark Jr. is swimming across Lake Erie on behalf of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund (IFHF) Traumatic Brain Injury.
Josh Heynes, founder and director of the Lake Erie Open Water Swimming Association who has crossed Lake Erie twice himself (11 hours 53 minutes in 2006 and 11 hours 16 minutes in 2011), said 17-year-old Stark and 30-year-old Elliot Spaeder. “It just so happens that Norman is a high school swimmer at Cathedral Prep and Elliot is his high school coach.”
“I was inspired by the challenges that many brave veterans and their families face every day,” explains Stark who has 3 older siblings in the United States Navy. “The idea of swimming across Lake Erie first came to me in a dream in the summer of 2013 when I was 16.”
“Erie is the perfect destination for solo marathon swims because it is almost directly across from Long Point, Ontario, Canada,” describes Heynes. “Many swimmers have tried to swim the lake here, but few have succeeded. Norman’s swim will start in Canada and finish on the shores of Freeport Beach in Pennsylvania – a distance of 24.3 miles.”
For more information on his attempt, visit www.iswimforvets.com.
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. 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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