Anne Marie Ward Reaches Her Goal between Ireland and Scotland

2.Sep.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Solo Challenges   |  (0) comments

A day after Stephen Redmond's success, Anne Marie Ward joined the elite crowd of North Channel swimmers with an 18 hour 59 minute effort, courageously swimming through the night and ending in darkness at 3:35 am.

It was Anne Marie's fourth attempt - and second since August this year - which makes her first success all the more sweet.

After reaching the pinnacle of sport with successful swims in the English Channel and North Channel, Anne Marie talks of her start in the sport.

"My twenties and early thirties were spent focusing on my education and career. I work as a Disability Services Manager with the HSE and although I love my job I realised about five years ago that I didn’t have a very healthy work life balance and that my own health was suffering as a result. I decided it was time to get my act together and do a bit of exercise, of course swimming was the natural choice. To help my motivation I took on a 2-mile charity sea swim in South Donegal, which I easily completed and as I had trained for it I felt great, there was also a feel-good factor in raising money for the charity."

The entire community feels good for Anne Marie.

Michael Tyson On The Round Christianborg Swim

2.Sep.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Races   |  (0) comments

Michael Tyson posted a visually dynamic explanation of the Round Christiansborg Swim, a 2K circumnavigation around the Danish Parliament in downtown Copenhagen.

1,033 swimmers enjoyed the race that is posted colorfully described here.

Open Water Swimming in Western Australia

1.Sep.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (1) comments

Western Australia is offering a six-part Open Water Swimming Series with standard distances that runs from October to January across Perth's metropolitan beaches.

The first race is at Rockingham Beach (1.25K, 2.5K and 5K) on October 31st. The second race is at Mullaloo Beach (1.25K, 2.5K and 5K) on November 13th. The third race is in the Swan River at the Barrack Street Jetty (1.25K and 2.5K) on November 20th. The fourth race is at Champion Lakes (1.25K, 2.5K, 5K and 10K) on December 12th. The fifth race is at Leighton Beach (1.25K, 2.5K and 5K) on January 2nd.

The sixth and final race is at Sorrento Beach (2.5, 5K and 10K) on January 30th where the 10K is also the Rotto Reheasal for the world-famous Rottnest Channel Swim on

Clare Kelly of the Western Australia organization reports, "This 2010/11 Open Water Swimming Series is expected to be our biggest to date with new electronic timing system and loads of prizes and entertainment on offer."

Stephen Redmond Conquers The North Channel

31.Aug.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Solo Challenges   |  (1) comments

The global marathon swimming community was abuzz today as Stephen Redmond of Ireland made steady progress across the North (Irish) Channel. His steady pace was tracked online as people from around the world cheered him on to an unofficial finish time of 17 hours and 20 minutes.

Considered to be the hardest of the major channels in the world, Steve joined the Who's Who of the marathon swimming world in his swim that includes such esteemed members as International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame inductees Tom Blower, Kevin Murphy, Ted Keenan, Alison Streeter and Margaret Kidd, Paul Lewis, Steve Price, Colm O'Neill nd Colleen Blair.

Stephen did the 35K swim between Ireland and Scotland in support of the Irish Cancer Society. Stephen trained for a year for his swim, including 5K and 10K swims during the winter to build up his endurance and acclimate to the cold water he faced today.

His year of hard training surely paid off handsomely today.

Photo of Stephen (middle) by Eoghan Daly.

All for One and One for All in Catalina

29.Aug.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (1) comments

Chris Dahowski, Team Captain of Swim22, the Contiguous Solo Crossing Relay across the Catalina Channel, will swim shoulder-to-shoulder with some famous swimmers in the Grand Finale on October 6th.

Chris and his three teammates will attempt to do four consecutive channel crossings, with each swimming a solo Catalina Channel crossing. Each subsequent swimmer will be at the mercy of the elements and the time and arrival location of their teammates who go off before them.

The elite swimmers will join Chris on the final leg as they jointly make the final approach to the beach on Day 2 (or 3) of the Contiguous Solo Crossing Relay.

Master Piece for the Wounded Warrior Project and Por Ellas

28.Aug.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Products & Equipment   |  (1) comments

In support of the Mexican American Unity Swim in Lake Powell, Arizona, Craig Baskin created painting entitled H2O Unity.

"I created the painting to help raise funds and awareness for all organizations affiliated with the non-stop three-day six-person distance swimming record attempt," said Craig who donates 100% of the proceeds to the Wounded Warrior Project in the United States and Por Ellas in Mexico.

To submit a bid, go to the event website.

Clark Bird Does It The Hard Way Across Lake Tahoe

27.Aug.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Solo Challenges   |  (1) comments

39-year-old Clark Bird of Merced, California completed the length of Lake Tahoe last week under the most unusual and difficult of conditions - against the wind and at night 13 hours and 23 minutes at high altitude.

Throughout the history of Lake Tahoe crossings, only Tom Linthicum in 2009 did so in the same north-to-south direction.

"I swam 5:27 at night to 6:50 in the morning. At the beginning, the wind was at 10 mph for the first two and half hours. The wind then calmed down to 2-3 mph for the next six hours. Then it picked back up between 10-15 mph for the next three hours and calmed back down for the last two hours. At the start the temperature was 61°F (16.1°C) and dipped down to 58°F (14.4°C) for much of the night swim. The wind, cold and night swimming took its toll on me as I completed the last five miles in approximately six hours."

"It was a physical challenge that became a mental challenge to finish. My body temperature was 95°F (35°C) after a one-hour hot shower which means I was in some state of hypothermia during the last section of the swim. In addition, the air temperature in Tahoe got very cold."

The former All-American swimmer and water polo player at Merced Community College was confident that his effort stacks up with the greatest marathon swims in history. "The English Channel is a shorter distance with about the same air and water temperatures that I had during my Lake Tahoe swim. The Catalina Channel is also a shorter swim with water temperatures between 62°F (16.6°C) and 70°F (21.1°C). In any case, the conditions that were presented to me match up to all of these swims in that I had high wind advisories, cold water and [did] 22.1 miles (35.5K) at night."

Clark had an interesting motivation to do this swim. "I had done the width of Tahoe a few years back and when Ken [Harmon] decided to do a double-crossing, I told him I would like to pace him for one length. My plan was to break the record for the length, but I now believe that my swim should be in a different category than the other lengthwise swims across Tahoe as I believe they did it during the day and had much better conditions."

Like every successful swim without a wetsuit, Clark was prepared and prepared for every possible condition. "I feel my year of training for this event paid off on miles 19 though 22 when I just flat-out made the decision I was going to finish what I started."

Doing It Four Times In The Catalina Channel

26.Aug.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: History   |  (1) comments

Chris Dahowski, Mike Vovk, David Hartmire and Jen Schumacher (shown on left) will do a Contiguous Solo Crossing Relay across the Catalina Channel.

What is a Contiguous Solo Crossing Relay?

A Contiguous Solo Crossing Relay is a swim where any number of athletes completes consecutive point-to-point solo swims or circumnavigations of any duration, length or type in an open body of water and where each swimmer starts after being touched by the previous swimmer who has cleared the water.

In the case of Chris Dahowski, Mike Vovk, David Hartmire and Jen Schumacher, each of their legs is going to be a one-way crossing of the Catalina Channel.

With each swimmer independently following the rules of the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation, they will collectively attempt their unprecedented Contiguous Solo Crossing Relay where each swimmer can only start after being touched by their teammate who has just cleared the water on the previous leg. So wherever and whenever their teammates land that is where the next swimmer begins.

The team explained their event here. Chris Chris further explains, "The logistics are more difficult than training for the channel. We have four separate support teams for each swimmer, numbering at least 80 people."

"The transitions between each leg are the most difficult logistically. We are going to have the next swimmer swim in with the previous swimmer as they finish their leg of the channel. So once their teammate has cleared the land per the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation rules, the next swimmer will be tagged and will begin their leg. So we will all be at the mercy of not only the elements, but also somewhat of our own teammates. It is a great event and we've all been training together, so we are looking forward to this. We've received great support for this from the entire community."

The team is doing this charity swim as a benefit for the Mission of Jay Nolan Community Services that enable individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other Developmental Disabilities to live fulfilling lives by providing support services customized to their individual needs.

Swimming Across The Continents To The United Nations

26.Aug.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (1) comments

In order to promote the last leg of his Swim Across The Continents, Marcos Díaz is planning a swim from the United Nations.

Since May, Dominican Republic's Marcos has engaged an innovative and ambitious project called the 'Swim Across The Continents' for the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.  Marcos has swum between the Pacific and Asia (from Papua New Guinea to Indonesia on May 15th), between Asia and Africa (from Jordan to Egypt on June 20th), between Africa and Europe (from Morocco to Spain on July 30th) and will swim between Europe and America (from Russia to Alaska).

On September 15th after completing these four crossings, Marcos will visit New York City to do a symbolic swim from the Statue of Liberty to the Gantry Plaza State Park in front of the United Nations headquarters. In a dramatic touch, he will deliver a document to the Secretary-General of the United Nations that contains the signatures and wishes of the hundreds of thousands of people that have joined this project in a very special and unique way to demand the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals in a fight against poverty.

Third Time Is A Charm, A World Record Attempt In Lake Powell

25.Aug.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (2) comments

The Night Train Swimmers are teaming up with three outstanding Mexican endurance swimmers to attempt a non-stop open water swimming relay world record.

The swim, billed as the Mexican American Unity Swim 2010, is expected to take an estimated 60 hours.

Vito Bialla, Matthew Davie and Phil Cutti from the San Francisco Bay area and three Mexican marathon swimmers, including International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Nora Toledano, two-time Olympian Pat Kohlmann and Edna Llorens, will attempt to break the existing non-stop open water swimming relay record of 75 nautical miles in Lake Powell, Arizona on September 24th.

The Mexican American Unity Swim 2010 will raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project and Por Ellas.

"The Night Train Swimmers have been dedicated to pursuing this record and our fellow Mexican swimmers will help us achieve our goal," said Vito.

"Our hopes are to show the world that great things can be achieved when two sides come together to help other people; to us that’s what truly matters."

The team remains undaunted - and in fact are increasingly driven by their previous failures at setting a record. Their latest attempt was in the Sea of Cortez where jellyfish proved their doom. Despite the storms in their last attempt and the deep scars that the venomous jellyfish left on the swimmers, the group swam for 37 hours while covering 63.8 nautical miles in the Sea of Cortez.

But setting a record in the unpredictable ocean is difficult. Doing it in a lake is better suited for a record-breaking attempt.

Lake Powell’s tranquility and scenic beauty is an ideal location to break the current record of 75 nautical miles that was previously set by two international team of swimmers (one male and one female) on Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand, in 2009. Accounts of the existing record can be found international team of swimmers and here.

The women's team of Julie Bradshaw (England), Michelle Macy (USA), Barbara Pellick (Australia), Penny Palfrey (Australia), Lucy Roper (England) and Heather Osborn (New Zealand) completed the 126K relay triple-crossing of Lake Taupo in 33 hour 33 minutes 45 seconds. The men’s team included Steve Junk (Australia), Mark Cockroft (New Zealand), Dougal Hunt (Australia), Chris Palfrey (Australia) and Stephen Spence (Australia) who finished in 33 hours 31 minutes 15 seconds.

Photo of Vito Bialla.

Natalie du Toit Wins International Paralympic Open Water Championships

23.Aug.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Races   |  (2) comments

Natalie du Toit won one of the open water swim classes at the 2010 International Paralympic Committee Swimming World Championships at E3 Beach in Eersel, the Netherlands.

32 athletes and 650 supporters watched the athletes compete in the 5K course.

In the men’s classes S1 through S10 M/W, Australian Hall Brenden (S9) captured gold over Portugal's Emanuel Goncalves (S10) and American Joe Wisse (S10).

Natalie (S9) not only beat silver medalist Elodie Lorandie from France (S10) and Croatia's Sanja Milojevic (S9), but also all of the men in classes S1 through S10.

Men’s results:
1. Brenden Hall (AUS) S9, 1:01:13.14
2. Emanuel Goncalves (POR) S10, 1:01:16.85
3. Joe Wise (USA) S10, 1:02:34.58
4. David Grachat (POR) S9, 1:04:06.34
5. Kasper Zysek (DEN) S9, 1:04:06.57
6. Sven Decaesstecker (BEL) S10, 1:04:11.55
7. Marcelo Collet (BRA) S10 and Chistoph Burkard (GER) S8, both 1:05:03.87
9. Cody Bureau (USA) S9, 1:06:43.75
10. Eduard Samarin (RUS) S9, 1:07:32.90
11. Wim De Paepe (BEL) S9, 1:09:00.44
12. Jose Antonio Mari Alcaraz (ESP) S9, 1:10:02.50
13. Simon Boer (NED) S9, 1:11:52.24
14. Boris Malasevic (SRB) S10, 1:14:56.99
15. Cristiaan Du Plessis (RSA) S8, 1:15:01.07
16. Mikkel Asmussen (DEN) S8, 1:15:01.48
17. Gianluca Cacciamano (ITA) S10, 1:18:08.16

Women’s results
1. Natalie Du Toit (RSA) S9, 1:00:22.00
2. Elodie Lorandi (FRA) S10, 1:06:48.05
3. Sanja Milojevic (CRO) S9, 1:07:33.25
4. Elizabeth Stone (USA) S9, 1:09:45.84
5. Ashley Owens (USA) S10, 1:10:34.85
6. Sussan Beth Scott (USA) S10, 1:13:09.38
7. Adela Kolinska (CZE) S9, 1:25:41.38
8. Gina Lourens (IRL) S8, 1:32:12.73

In the men's classes S11 through S13, Russia's Sergey Punko (S12) won over Spain's Enrique Floriano (S12) and Germany's Robert Doerries (S13). Teigan van Roosmalen (S13) from Australia won the women's race.

Men’s results:
1. Sergey Punko (RUS) S12, 59:58.19
2. Enrique Floriano (ESP) S12, 1:00:55.75
3. Robert Doerries (GER) S13, 1:06:44.62

Women’s results:
1. Teigan Van Roosmalen (AUS) S13, 1:17:35.51

Celebrating Life in the Swim4YourLife

23.Aug.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (4) comments

One of the most compelling stories among elite swimmers in America centers around Eric Shanteau, an Olympic swimmer and cancer survivor.

One week before the USA Olympic Swimming Trials, Eric was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Despite the devestating news, Eric swam at Trials and made the USA Olympic team and later swam his lifetime best in Beijing.  He later underwent surgery and was declared cancer free. Since then, he has worked with the Lance Armstrong Foundation and has started a Swim4Your Life open water clinic and races in Lake Lanier Islands in Georgia between September 17-19.

Eric's three-day open water swimming extravaganza begins on September 17th with an open water clinic led by Olympians Aaron Peirsol, Amanda Weir and Eric and ends with a cocktail party and dinner. The events include a 500-yard swim for kids and 1K and 5K races in Lake Lanier where national open water swimming championships and national training camps have been held.

"The open water provides a different challenge than the pool, it excites me because there literally are no walls. You can get too comfortable in the pool sometimes. I think swimming in a lake or ocean can strengthen your pool swimming. In teaming with Livestrong for this event, I hope people are inspired to live healthy and active lifestyles and to tackle their fitness goals."

Christine Jennings Takes The Pan Pacific Swimming Championships

22.Aug.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Races   |  (12) comments

The 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships culminated in an entertaining race - up and back and up and back and up and back over 10,000 meters in the women's 10K marathon swim in Marine Stadium in Long Beach, California.

Simply put, the women gutted it out - going hard right from the start and showing hearts of champions.

After Eva Fabian pulled the women to a fast-paced race in the five-loop course, it was Christine Jennings from Colorado who stuck around the lead, expertly bidding her time to bolt into the lead.

How fast was Eva pulling along the women that included Christine, Emily Brunemann, Melissa Gorman, Haley Anderson, Cara Baker, Zsofia Balazs and Danielle DeFrancesco? Faster than all the men at the end of the first 2K loop. Faster than the men with the exception of the top three at the end of the 4K loop. At the 6K, the women were still giving it their all, visibly rosy in the cheeks, shoulders and back - faster than all but the top six men.

Typically physical, the nature of the women's pack changed visibly after Olympian Chloe Sutton was disqualified after receiving her second yellow card.

Christine's 2K splits were 23:48, 23:58, 23:47, 24:33, 24:27 - which were only a small fraction different than the splits from the other top four women. The men' winner, Chip Peterson, in contrast went 24:03, 23:11, 23:01, 23:04 and 22:41.

Around the last turn buoy, Christine and Eva went whizzing by the 180° turn with Emily, Haley and Melissa right on their toes. But after winning the 1500-meter freestyle, Melissa just did not have it in her for today. So it was a four-way race between the four Americans.

Christine edged into the lead with Eva nipping at her toes. Christine veered far left coming into the finish, then moved right, then left again. But her shifts in direction were mirrored by Eva and the women behind her, enabling Christine to influence the race in her favor. But she also demonstrated the closing speed to seal the deal and return home to Colorado as the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championship 10K gold medalist.

The women's times and 2K split times courtesy of Powerhouse Timing are here:

1. Christine Jennings (USA), 2:00:33.8

2. Eva Fabian (USA), 2:00:35.7 

3. Emily Brunemann (USA), 2:00:37.8

4. Haley Anderson (USA), 2:00:40.9  

5. Melissa Gorman (AUS), 2:00:56.5

6. Zsofia Balazs (CAN), 2:02:23.3

7. Danielle DeFrancesco (AUS), 2:02:26.4

8. Cara Baker (NZL), 2:03:44.4

9. Nadine Williams (CAN), 2:04:06.7

10. Samantha Hoschke-Edwards (AUS), 2:04:20.6

11. Stacey Hansford (AUS), 2:06:52.1

12. Yumi Kida (JPN), 2:08:00.0

- Poliana Okimoto (BRA), DNF
- Chloe Sutton (USA), Disqualified

The signage and festivities at the Pan Pacific Championships 10K marathon swim were courtesy of Run Racing.

Watch the Pan Pacific 10K Championships Live Online

21.Aug.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Races   |  (4) comments

2010 world 5K champion Eva Fabian, a home schooled 16-year-old who taught her calculus, opened up the third night of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships with a rousing rendition of American national anthem on her violin.

Her impressive piece was a great way to open the night where favored 10K swimmer Chloe Sutton won her first international pool event in a fast 4:05.19 in the 400-meter freestyle to defeat her more heralded pool swimming Olympic teammates, Katie Hoff and Kate Ziegler.

Eva and Chloe will face off soon enough - tomorrow at 9:10 am in Marine Stadium in a much-anticipated 10K race broadcast live on SwimNetwork against Brazil's Poliana Okimoto, Australia's world champion Melissa Gorman, NCAA champion Emily Brunemann and New Zealand's Cara Baker.

Watch live here on SwimNetwork.

The Ultimate Icy Departure

21.Aug.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Training   |  (3) comments

Marcos Díaz is on his final leg for his Swim Across The Continents, a replication of Lynne Cox's famous 1987 swim in 4°C (40°F) from the island of Little Diomede in Alaska to Big Diomede Island, then part of the Soviet Union.

Marcos is currently on his way from his native Dominican Republic to Anchorage, Alaska, then Nome, then Cape Wales where he will wait for the proper weather to take a boat to Little Diomede and then Big Diomede to do his Bering Strait swim.

In preparation of his ice-cold swim, a local ice-making company in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic called Grupo Alaska replicated the condition of the Bering Strait in tropical-warm Santo Domingo 25-meter pool. Grupo Alaska put over 50,000 pounds of ice in the pool yesterday morning and by the afternoon the pool was 2-3°C.

"This gave me a chance to do my last training session here with all my gear. I had the chane to test everything and then I realized that I will have to wear two wetsuits in order to make it safe," explained Marcos.

"It was the first time that a 25-meter outdoor swimming pool in Caribbean had the water temperature change from 28°C to under 5°C. To do that in the middle of a very hot summer was a big challange for Grupo Alaska. They did it, and we had the chance to train under [the Bering Strait conditions] here at home before taking off to Bering tomorow."

Incredible sponsorship and a tremendously creative preparation: watch the video here.