Monica Calderon Completes The Challenge in Ilha Grande
One of the five major swims that Renato Ribeiro of the Big Island Swimming Association organizes is the 16 km Freguesia de Santana – Pouso Challenge Swim around Ilha Grande, an island located 2 km off the mainland of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ilha Grande It was used as a penal colony between 1900 and 1990 and is a UNESCO World Heritage site with 113 beaches along its coast.
On March 8th International Women’s Day, Monica Calderon, a Colombian swimmer, completed the prison island swim in 5 hours 46 minutes. Ribeiro said, “This friendly, humble Colombian extreme warrior has an inner strength and swims with such mastery. Congratulations to this warrior of the sea, of life, of everything, may all women feel represented and honored by her achievement.”
Ribeiro organizes five marathon events in and around Ilha Grande:
- The Challenge is a 16 km swim that starts at Freguesia de Santana and finishes at Pouso. It can be attempted as a solo swim or as a two-person relay.
- The Island Escape is a 25 km swim that starts in Lopes Mendes and finishes in Portogalo (Praia do Cazuza). It can be attempted as a solo swim or as a two-, three-, or four-person relay.
- The Sheltered is a 37 km swim that starts at Meros and finishes at Abraãozinho. It can be attempted as a solo swim or as a two-, three-, or four-person relay. It was named as one of the World’s Top 100 Island Swims.
- The Unsheltered is a 48 km swim that starts at Aroeira and finishes at Longa. It can be attempted as a solo swim or as a two-, three-, or four-person relay.
- The Complete is 85 km circumnavigation swim around Ilha Grande that starts and finishes in Palmas. It can be attempted as a solo swim or as a two-, three-, or four-person relay.
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