Michelle Macy Talks About Her Open Water Journey On WOWSA Live

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Michelle Macy of Portland, Oregon is an International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Swimmer. The Nike employee and global traveler – from Tsugaru Channel in Japan to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia – humbly tells her personal open water swimming journey on today’s WOWSA Live interview.

Macy was not only the third person in history to complete the Oceans Seven, but she also failed more times across the Oceans Seven channels than any other swimmer. Before she was successful in Japan’s Tsugaru Channel, she faced cold water in a May crossing and recorded a DNF. A month later, she faced cold water in the North Channel in June and was pulled. She got sick in Molokai and she also attempted two English Channel three-way crossings, but neither were successful. “But I got three solos out of those attempt,” said Macy with a twinkle in her eye. Macy talked about a number of her swims and experiences with International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame chairperson Ned Denison. She recalled:

* getting into marathon swimming from a pool swimming (i.e., competitive) perspective
* swimming with James Pittar in 2007
* worrying about whales and sea lions in her swims
* learning from Bruckner Chase and readjusting to a marathon swimmer’s mindset to safely enjoy her challenges
* doing two tandem swims during her Oceans Seven crossings
* overcoming the most failures during her Oceans Seven attempts
* dealing with her fear of sharks especially when swimming across the Molokai Channel
* being told in the middle of the Strait of Gibraltar that pilot whales will not “eat her”
* imagining new places to swim whenever she sees an open body of water
* changing her lifestyle to achieve her marathon and channel swimming successes
* doing yoga, Pilates, rowing machine and lots of dryland training in addition to her swim training
* raising US$50,000 for breast cancer research
* coming up with the Still Water 8: Loch Ness, Lake Zürich, Lake Tahoe, Lake Taupo, Lake Ontario, Lake Titicaca, Lake Malawi, Sea of Galilee (replacing Lake Baikal and Lake Windermere)
* sheltering in place in Portland, Oregon and working out in two local rivers: Willamette River and Columbia River
* refunding 87% of fees for the Portland Bridge Swim

For more information about Macy, visit www.macyswim.com.

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