Courtesy of WOWSA , Huntington Beach , California .
The Triple Crown is a long sought-after achievement in the world of open water swimming.
The
Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming includes a successful completion of the English Channel (England-France), the Catalina Channel (Catalina Island-California mainland), and the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (New York City).
The
Triple Crown of Prison Island Swims , coined by
Ned Denison and otherwise known as
Triple Break , came into vogue later where swimmers escape by swimming from at least 3 of the world’s most well-known island prison swims: Le Château d’If, Fort Boyard, Devil’s Island, Île de Gorée, Robben Island, Alcatraz Island, Spike Island, Rottnest Island, and Sainte-Marguerite.
Now there is another third Triple Crown on the global open water swimming circuit: the
Triple Crown of Lake Monster Swims that includes solo, bioprene crossings of
Loch Ness (Scotland),
Lake Tahoe (California-Nevada, USA), and
Lake Memphremagog (USA-Canada).
Coined by
Phil White of the Northeast Kingdom Open Water Swimming Association, the Triple Crown of Lake Monster Swims may have its first pioneers in 2015. “
Sarah Thomas and Craig Lenning [shown above] of Colorado and Elaine Kornbau Howley of Massachusetts, are expanding their search for plesiosaur-like lake creatures by attempting to swim the length of Loch Ness this August,” says White who is organizing the expedition.
The history of these renowned lake crossings goes back over 50 years ago.
Fred Rogers first crossed Lake Tahoe lengthwise in 1955. After dozens of swimmers who followed, Thomas and Lenning both completed the first two-way crossings of Lake Tahoe in history in 2013.
Following in the wake of
Billy O’Connor in 1955 and hundreds of professional marathon swimmers who crossed Lake Memphremagog in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, Howley was the first contemporary swimmer to complete a crossing of the lake in the inaugural In Search of Memphre race in 2011. Thomas became the first person in history to double-cross Lake Memphremagog, which she did in 2013, swimming 50 miles in 30 hours.
Following in the wake of
Brenda Sherratt in 1966 across
Loch Ness , relatively few swimmers including
Kevin Murphy ,
Tammy van Wisse , and
Michael Read have accomplished a bioprene crossing of Loch Ness.
If Thomas completes the planned Loch Ness crossing, she will become the first person to achieve the
cryptozoological Triple Crown . A regular pioneer of unprecedented marathon swims in the United States, Thomas will add another open water feather to her prolific swim cap in Scotland.
If Lenning completes his plane Loch Ness crossing, in addition to his 2012 Lake Tahoe crossing, he can achieve the
Triple Crown of Lake Monster Swims on September 6th when he competes in this year’s
In Search of Memphre in Lake Memphremagog on September 6th.
Howley is eying a Lake Tahoe attempt before she attempts Loch Ness, so she can join Lenning and Thomas in claiming the
cryptozoological Triple Crown this August.
These 3 tough lakes will take 3 monster efforts by contemporary heroes of the sport.
Copyright © 2008 – 2014 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.
Latest posts by Steven Munatones
(see all )