Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Open water swimmers have an interesting and personal number of habits, idiosyncrasies, eccentricities, tricks and superstitions before heading offshore to do a channel swim, ice swim, marathon swim or open water swimming race. Some of them eat something special or drink something unique or do something
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. This year, 53-year-old Penny Palfrey of Queensland, Australia headlines the 8-mile Boston Light Swim today. Joining her in the Boston Harbor Islands are 23 other solo swimmers and 6 relay teams. Similar to fellow International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame inductee Annette Kellerman over a century ago,
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. After looking back on her 27-year career as an open water swimmer, Japan's Yuko Matsuzaki is not even halfway done. The 52-year-old spent decades competing on the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix circuit, racing in Italy, Argentina, Serbia, Brazil, Greece, Bermuda, the United States, and Canada.
Data courtesy of Barbara Held and Marcia Cleveland. Among the individuals who have completed the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, the average age is 43.7 years old. The age of completion ranges from teenagers [female: Charlotte Samuels at the age of 16 and male: Lachlan Hinds at the age of 18] to veterans [female: Barbara Held at 59 and male: Bob
Courtesy of Darren Miller, Huntington Beach, California. Jim Clifford became the oldest Catalina Channel swimmer in history this Sunday morning with a quick 9 hour 49 minute 20.2-mile crossing from Santa Catalina Island to the California mainland. With Darren Miller, Lynn Kubasek, Barbara Held and Tom Hecker on his crew, he was bound to rip off a fast
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Five swimmers in Ireland completed their Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming and were celebrated in Cork, Ireland this weekend. The accomplished quintet included Fionnuala Walsh from County Clare and Ciaran Byrne, Ned Denison, Eddie Irwin and Gábor Molnár from Sandycove Island, County Cork. The kickoff in
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. "Bob West is a wonderful man and a true inspiration," says friend and fellow ocean swimmer Barbara Held. "He gives unselfishly of himself to help any and all who express an interest in swimming long or short." West's development as a swimmer was delayed to say the least. "When I showed up at La Jolla Cove
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Loretta Cox crossed the English Channel in 1995 and completed the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in 1997. The British swimmer from Westerham, Kent is now attempting to complete the circle and achieve the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming with a September crossing of the Catalina Channel. As a
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Answers are below: 1. Just keep swimming. A. Freda Streeter at Dover, England B. Ned Denison during Cork Distance Week in Ireland C. Dory in Finding Nemo (movie) 2. I swim as fast and as hard as I can for as long as I can. A. Richard Weinberger at the FINA World Championships B. Trent Grimsey standing on
It is a jet-setting life Ashley Twichell leads. From airport to airport, city to city, ocean to lake, pool to pool, the professional open water swimmer adds up the air mileage a la masters swimmers Barbara Held, Ned Denison and Roger Finch. The trio literally travel around the world in search of open water swims. In a very, very short span bouncing from
