Just as the Who's Who of continental European channel swimmers came out to Sandycove Island in Ireland last month, the Who's Who of East Coast America came out to the inaugural Cold Water Challenge in Fairfield, Connecticut today. In a course pioneered and popularized by Andy Davis, Liz Fry, Jim Bayles and Kevin Lederer, the crème de la crème of East Coast
The American Channel, formerly known as Massachusetts Bay, has been sitting dormant for nearly a century when it comes to marathon swimming. But Greg O’Connor (shown on left) of the Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association changed all that. With his vision and drive, he is reviving a swim that has attracted attention since 1915. Earlier today under
Grace van der Byl did it again at the S.C.A.R. Swim Challenge on Day Three. She dominated, not unexpectedly, the most difficult stage of the 4-day marathon - a tough, cold 17-miler (27.3 km) in Apache Lake. Just finishing over 5 hours, she separated herself by 20 minutes over the field. But everyone who swam had to dig deep as they faced relentless 20-30
"Tomorrow is the long one, 17 miles total, the longest of the four stages. But today was a great day [in Canyon Lake]," recalled David Barra of Day 2 in the S.C.A.R. Swim Challenge in the state of Arizona. "Last year, I recall this swim was a lot harder. But we had mostly tail winds today, so it was a pretty speedy swim. All the swimmers finished. And,
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. It was a night none of the swimmers will ever forget. Patrick Brundage recalls, "I could swing my eyes upward a bit and see the brilliant starry sky that we never get to see in light-polluted Phoenix. It was gorgeous. Add to that the neat effect of my orange glow stick wrist band and one of my pink glow
On Golden Pond Courtesy of WOWSA. In Search of Memphré is a 25-mile cross-border swim along the length of Lake Memphremagog starting from Newport, Vermont (USA) and ending in Magog, Quebec (Canada). The first group started at 12:12 am and the second wave left at 1:12 am. The group included Liz Fry (53), David Dammerman (43), Bill Shipp (52), David Barra
Harry Kemp, an American writer known as Poet of the Dunes, floated the idea of an open water swim between Provincetown and Plymouth, symbolically celebrating the historic bond between the First Landing Place and the First Colony. Kemp promoted a 20-mile swim called the American Channel Swim from Provincetown to Plymouth to remind people of the course the
What started as one man's dream last year has blossomed to the world's longest and largest ultra-marathon stage swim. David Barra and Rondi Davies organize the 2nd 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim, a 7-day stage swim down the Hudson River in the state of New York that covers 120 miles (193 km). The swim, begins at the Rip Van Winkle Bridge and ends at the
David Barra and Rondi Davies announced the 2nd annual 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim. At 120 miles (193K), his marathon swimming vision is the longest competitive solo swim event in the world. In collaboration with Coney Island Brighton Beach Open Water Swimmers, David, Rondi and Coney Island Brighton Beach Open Water Swimmers will organize 7 marathon swims
While the annual banquet for the English Channel swimmers is elegant and black-tie, the annual Catalina Channel Swimming Federation is casual held with the Pacific Ocean looming just offshore.At this year's banquet, as usual, there was laughter, tears and heartfelt acknowledgements by the swimmers that frequently touched upon family ties. David Hartmire
