Powerfully Pugnacious Pacific vs. Penny Palfrey
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Penny Palfrey, one of the nominees for the 2010 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year, will take on the monsterous, humungous 72-mile Kaieiewaho Channel next week, probably around the November 8th – 11th window due to some favorable winds (Kona winds that help reduce the surface chop around the Hawaiian islands).
Her swim is all the more remarkable because she was defeated earlier this year by a pod of Portuguese man o war on her 12-hour swim from Oahu to Kauai (see video below). Despite understanding the pain that comes with a massive amount of venom that entered her system on her first attempt, she returned to Hawaii to attempt one of the most challenging swims in open water swimming history.
Penny will extend herself longer in tougher conditions than most anyone in history. She will face sharks, Portuguese Man-o-War, swells of unimaginable size in the middle of the largest body of water on Earth. 115.8 km – a distance more than the distance of the English Channel, Catalina Channel, Strait of Gibraltar and Cook Strait combined.
Kaieiewaho Channel – round 2…
Copyright © 2010 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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