"I was working for a chiropractor after college and being a lifeguard on the weekends," said 26-year-old Lexie Kelly of Long Beach, California. "At the time when the economy was not all that great, it was fine because I love being outdoors and meeting people from all walks of life," recalls the California native. "I was getting in some pool workouts in the
Given the second chance to complete a circumnavigation around Manhattan Island, nine swimmers including Kristian Rutford, Nicole Hirschman, Frank Levy, Karen Throsby, Caitlin Rosen, Phyllis Ho, James Penrose, Jim Neitz, and Steven Green took the NYC Swim up on the offer. All nine held up on their side of the bargain: successful swims around Manhattan in
The hoopla surrounding the NYC Swim Manhattan Island Marathon Swim is a huge deal for the marathon swimming community. The competition and the camaraderie helps draw the community together. When people succeed, their family and friends are ecstatic. When they are pulled from the waterways around New York, they are crestfallen. But life and the open
1...2...3. That is what it took for 46-year-old Katy Dooley of Austin, Texas to achieve the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming at today's Manhattan Island Marathon Swim. The Texas swimmer crossed the 20.2-mile Catalina Channel from Catalina Island to the mainland in 2011 in 9 hours 49 minutes. Then she crossed the 21-mile English Channel from England to
If it involves water - fresh or salt, chlorinated or cold - Jim McConica is at the top of his game. As the swimming community collectively nodded its head in agreement, Swimming World Magazine announced the 62-year-old McConica as one of its Top 12 World Masters Swimmers of the Year. A world-class swimmer for over 40 years, McConica has set his share of
Ventura Deep Six's record breaking 202-mile 6-man ocean relay, non-stop for over 4 days was something to behold. Along the California coast in September 2010, the Ventura Deep Six team of Mike Shaffer, Jim McConica, Kurt Baron, Tom Ball, John Chung, and Jim Neitz set out on a journey like no other. And its footage is gorgeous. VD6 from Jim Martin All
After completing back-to-back channel swims from Anacapa Island including shattering the course record, Jim McConica called it a week today. Despite having plans and a crew ready for a full week of battle in the Pacific Ocean between Anacapa Island and the California mainland, the Not-So-Old Man and the Sea called for a truce. McConica got a record and will
Scott Zorning, president of the Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association, announced 26 channel swim attempts between the Channel Islands and the coast of Southern California during the 2012 summer season. Most of the swims are from the small volcanic island, Anacapa, that lies about 11 miles from the California, while a few of the marathon swims will
The Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association awards banquet was held last night, honoring its 7 successful channel swimmers of 2011.br> The honorees include Jim Neitz, Forrest Nelson, Tina Neill, Marcia Cleveland, Chris Layton, Lynn Kubasek and Alan Morrison. Recollections, memories, comments and stories from each of the swims were shared over a
Jim Martin beautifully captured the essence and exploits of the Ventura Deep Six and the elements in which they challenged themselves with photography that exceeds our linguistic ability to describe it. Click here to literally feel like you are swimming with the Ventura Deep Six: Mike Shaffer, Jim McConica, Kurt Baron, Tom Ball, John Chung, and Jim Neitz.
