After reporting on Diana Nyad‘s upcoming swim from Cuba to Florida, we learned that Diana (’67) graduated from Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida which has long produced hundreds of great swimmers – and an amazing number of accomplished open water swimmers.
Sometime this month, Scott‘s brother Dan Richards (’74) will also give the English Channel a go after completing the Catalina Channel in 2008. If Dan is successful, Scott and Dan will be the only the second set of siblings to have successfully crossed both the Catalina Channel and the English Channel (Lynne and David Cox were the first).
“I will have to get Dan to swim around Manhattan Island so we can be the only brothers to do the Triple Crown,” said Scott on his way to Dover to help his brother.
We know there are some established institutions of greater learning in England where many channel swimmers have matriculated, but on stateside, Pine Crest School offers a great education, a great environment and have born some pretty incredible channel swimmers…
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.