Veteran marathon swimmer Jim Barber added to his resume with a successful Catalina Channel crossing that earned him a place on the Triple Crown Club.
After three Manhattan Island Marathon Swims under his belt (7:45.43 in 1988, 7:45.15 in 1989 and 7:06.34 in 1991), Jim tackled the English Channel in 2006 with a 9:06.36 crossing and completed his Triple Crown with a 8:43.03 Catalina Channel crossing last week.
The Zionsville, Indiana resident was philosophical about his 22-year road to joining the Triple Crown Club, “With every challenge you put forth, there will be many small defeats to overcome. Keep your focus on what you set out to do and you will persevere.”
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.