Lucky 13 In 2015 Portland Bridge Swim
Photo courtesy of Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian. Article courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. After the 2014 Portland Bridge Swim was cancelled due to deteriorating weather and lightening, race director Marisa Frieder is excited for the 17.2 km edition for 2015. “This year’s Portland Bridge Swim will take place on July 12th. Registration opens tomorrow on April 24th and will close on July 3rd. Registration as always is limited, so don’t miss out.”
The winners over the years:
2011, article here
Female: Emily Melina, 4:19:10 [shown on left]
Male: Ben Weston, 4:39:10
2012, article here
Male: Ryan Bullock, 3:49:14
Female: Alyson O’Brien, 4:12:29
2013, article here
Male: Johnny van Velthuyzen, 4:11
Female: Laurie Cyr, 4:34
“Our 2014 Portland Bridge Swim was a doozie,” explains Frieder. “About 90 minutes into the race, we had to evacuate the course and eventually cancel the swim due to lightning. The storms seemingly came out of nowhere; it went from sunny to evacuation in about 45 minutes and surprised the 3 meteorologists we had consulted about the weather. And there’s never lighting in Portland.
I am so proud of our amazing swimmers and volunteers, and our safety coordinator, Tim Waud. The evacuation was calm and smooth, and better than we could have envisioned when we put together our safety plan.
This year’s race will take swimmers through the heart of downtown Portland and thanks to bridge construction, swimmers will pass under 2 new bridges, bringing the total to 13.
The 10.7-mile race is open to solo swimmers and 3-person relay teams. A 5000-yard qualifying swim is required for solo swimmers, and all entrants must have an escort kayaker. 2014 entrants will receive a coupon for discounted entry fees. Lightning never strikes twice.”
For more information, visit here.
Copyright © 2015 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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