Fred Salzmann from Madison, Wisconsin knows something. The 80-year-old competed in a 2.1-mile point-to-point race in Lake Superior to Madeline Island, the Point to LaPointe Swim.

Salzmann took 1 hour 58 minutes to finish, or 1 hour 14 minutes behind the winning Brian Kirkvold from Minnesota, but he finished the swim and keeps on swimming, especially outside his northern Wisconsin home near Rock Lake where he organizes an annual swim.

In addition to Salzmann, 469 swimmers from 17 American states and Canada took to the Point to LaPointe Swim last year in Lake Superior, a massive body of water that contains 10% of all the fresh water on the planet Earth.

How massive?

So massive that it Lake Superior spreads out over 82,000 square kilometres (31,700 square miles) at an average depth is 147 meters. So massive that it has seen 350 shipwrecks in the lake. So massive that it takes almost 200 years for the water to be completely replaced by the over 300 streams and rivers that flow into it. So massive that it contains enough water to cover all of North and South America with water one foot deep. So massive that winds have generated waves as high as 9.45 meters (31 feet) high. So massive that in summer, the sun sets 35 minutes later on its western shore than at its southeastern edge. Wise man that Fred Salzmann.

For more information on the Point to LaPoint Swim, visit here.

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