Keeping Massachusetts North Shore Clean

The Salem Harbor Open Water Swim on August 28th benefits the Salem Sound Coastwatch, an action-oriented
non-profit organization working to keep the beaches, streams, coastal waters, and marine habitats of Massachusetts’ North Shore clean and healthy.

Entry fees to the 0.5K, 1.5K and 5K races are tax-deductible donations to the Salem Sound Coastwatch, a clever win-win situation.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Insight On Teamwork And Dedication In The Channel

With Brendan Capell, a former world 25K champion, ready to take on the English Channel in an attempt on Petar Stoychev's record next month, it was interesting to read International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame inductee Michael Oram discuss record-breaking English Channel attempts.

"All the swimmers, like Philip Rush and Petar Stoychev, were excellent swimmers and had faith in their pilot. They benefitted from a planned crossing that took a lot of theoretical work prior to them getting wet and even more while they were swimming.

The swimmer is the engine, the support team is the motivation and the pilot is the brains of the day and a lot of mental backup to keep doubts at bay."

As technology develops over time, Michael's tools also changed.

"With Philip's [1987 three-way] crossing, the pilot's side of the multiple crossings was completed without modern navigation equipment or technology - just pencil, paper (chart), compass, eyeball and gut feeling and experience."

"Phil swam out to the boat when he finished the third leg and - on his coach's orders - he started to swim back on a fourth crossing [28 hours after starting]. After half an hour or so, he complained he was cold and was having problems breathing with his swollen throat. It was only then Tony [his coach] told him he could get out if he must."

"Tony explained to me that after such a swim you need to keep going until you are safely back with the boat otherwise there was a problem when the adrenalin stopped pumping. Relaxing on the beach then having to return wet in the air in a dinghy was Tony's idea of a recipe for disaster. We have swum our swimmers back to the boat ever since then."

"On that swim, we had do a lot of navigation planning as it was a new swim for us going three ways. It worked out that we had to take two hours off on the third leg as Phil was swimming too fast. We did not have his swim speeds for a long set of crossings and were having to update our chartwork as we went (with eyeball and compass transits in those days)."

"With Petar's [2007 one-way] crossing, we knew had all the technology available at our fingertips and knew where we were to within 50 metres all the way over - we could also calculate where Yuri Kudinov, the Russian swimmer, was behind us. I could tell Petar if he had gained meters or lost meters over any period he wanted to know. I could tell him his arrival time within a minute or two if he kept the pace steady. I could also predict the swim time and landing place of Yuri and see how his pilot was thinking."

Michael explained precisely what was involved with Petar's historic swim - and the years of preparation and seemingly failure behind it.

"Peter's team was made up of trainers, support crew and boat crew. His first crossing was into a South Easterly force 6 (20+ knots against him), but he managed to do an incredible 7 hours 25 minutes in those conditions. His first question after he finished was, "Where did he go wrong?" Until we made that attempt, he did not fully understand the problems of tides, wind, sea conditions and the Channel. We talked and analyzed. I assured him that if he could do that time in those conditions then "on the right day" he would break the record. He gave me the problem of picking the right day."

"When he came back, he was in peak condition and ready to do his part in breaking the record. He was swimming at around 4.8 - 5K an hour, had sorted out his feedings and left all the logistics of the crossing to me. Five times he was on standby for the swim - and four times I said no. The fifth time, the wind was building from a lull and changing from the South West to the Northerly direction. We started with 7/8 knots and a forecast for it to increase to about 12 - 15 knots plus, mainly from the North with a little North West in it."

"Petar did not doubt or debate the call; he just asked if he would get the record. I said possibly if it all worked out with the weather and the tides and he swam hard. We started just after 10 am. Yuri had also been on standby to swim as it was a race to be the first to get the record. When they heard we had started, they followed us across but were 25 minutes behind us - the time it took for him to get to organised and get to the beach. To me, his start time introduced doubt as to Yuri's chances of getting the record. Petar and his speeds were very similar and he would miss the turn of the tide for landing on the point."

"The wind was building and had gone around to the North / North West sector when we left the beach. This meant we had the protection of the cliffs for the first couple of hours. We had two hours of wind against tide before the tide turned. As the sea had not begun to build with the wind, what waves we had were not a problem. The wind direction was from behind and as such would create a reasonable surfing sea pushing the swimmer towards the French coast. That helped us a little. The turn of the weak tide would be held up by the wind and that would give a little push towards France rather than a 180° turn over the slack water time."

"Petar's 4.8 - 5K swim speed gave us three hours of flood tide - 30 minutes of slack water and about three hour plus a bit finish with wind and tide together (on the ebb tide) at Cap Gris Nez."

"We did arrive on time and landed on the first rock at the tip of Cap Griz Nez. The landing part was the only mistake Petar made on the crossing. He swam in to the rocks without going to the place we directed him and it took him about two and a half minutes to get clear of the water. 50 meters to his right and he would have swum up onto the rocks and saved another 2 minutes. At Petar's swim speed, he was covering 80 metres every minute."

"His longest feed was six seconds - his average feed three seconds and a lot of the time it was less than two seconds. He feeds with an open cup and did not stop swimming. Feed collected in his right hand, onto his back with a left hand stroke and continue swimming. His total feed time for his 6 hour 57 minute crossing was 70 seconds with his feeds every 20 minutes to start with and every 10-15 mins at the end."

"Petar was updated his position, estimated arrival time and Yuri's relative position at each feed and sometimes between feeds by his support team. The support team worked asked questions, received answers and passed on the message. From the boat's instrumentation, we were monitoring our position and Yuri's all the way across to an accuracy of 20-30 meters with 3-4 minutes updates. The plotting was on paper chart, chart plotter & two computers, all linked into GPS's. Everything was duplicated and independent of each other- just in case. Petar knew when Yuri gained on him during each 30 minute period and when he gained on Yuri. ."

"With Yvetta [Hlaváčová's 2006 women's record of 7 hours 25 minutes] (shown above), we would have been faster, but she was actually going for the two-way record, not the fastest crossing. The start time for the two-way was earlier than I would have gone if it had been a one-way record. It took five minutes to convince Yvetta she had a chance. We were half the way over before I calculated that the wind and tide on that day was going to give us a 20 minute advantage on the turn, enough to get a new world record."

"We had a chat. She believed me and swam her heart out to get the record. Hence the slight change in course as we entered the North East Shipping lane. Yvetta took a five-minute rest on the rocks and decided to carry on and try for the two-way record as well. Unfortunately, she had pushed herself hard and retired at the Varne on the return journey, out of calories. She would have possibly made it back if we had sorted out her feeding from the start - we only added the magic Maxium towards the end of the first leg and as an occasional supplement on the return."

That kind of insight can only come from someone who has seen and been with the best.

Enlightening. Very enlightening.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Cool, Cooler And Cold In Lac St-Jean

Petar Stoychev is poised to compete for this 10th straight victory at tomorrow's 32K Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean in Roberval, Canada.

But water temperatures are currently an issue in the FINA Grand Prix event. Currently, at the Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean, the water is hovering right around 17°C (62°F).

With the air temperature also a maximum of 17°C and winds picking up, lac St-Jean may go down in temperature.

With the FINA Open Water Swimming rule governing the minimum water temperature of 16°C (i.e., races must be cancelled before that temperature), the Traversée is right on the edge.

FINA OWS 5.5 states, "The water temperature should be a minimum of 16°C. It should be checked the day of the race, 2 hours before the start, in the middle of the course at a depth of 40 cm. This control should be done in the presence of a Commission made up of the following persons present; a Referee, a member of the Organising Committee and one coach from the teams present designated during the Technical Meeting."

Let's hope the weather and water temperature holds.

Photo by Steeve Tremblay.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

One Of The Great Celebrations Of Marathon Swimming

The Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team annually conducts the International Self-Transcendence Marathon Swim, one of the world's great celebrations of open water swimming and endurance.

The 23rd edition of the 26.4K marathon swim is from Rapperswil to Zürich in Switzerland and has standard and wetsuit divisions for soloists and relays.

Introductory videos of the race can be seen here (in English) and here (in Swiss German).

We are impressed how the field of solo swimmers literally comes from all over the world - and how creative the names of the relay teams are.

Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team 1, Dutch Channel Swimmers 2010, Restless Sharks, The Adams Family, Sappers, Gone Fishing, Royal Engineers, TV Rheinbach I, Up the Rebels!, The Monkey Puzzlers, Pavarotti's Wives, The Big Guns, M N M, Cliff's Hangers, Team Outrageous, Red Top Relay, Rettungsfrösch, Flying Swissmen, AMT Nachwuchs, Brown Submarine, Ticos feat DJK Teutonia Gaustadt II, Sportfreunde Buick, Ticos feat DJK Teutonia Gaustadt I, Yellow Submarine, Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team 2, Die Drei ???, Hasenacker, Zumiteam, aguareinas, Sailfish TT Sprockhövel, Seeteufel, SRD Meilen-Uetikon.

Stefan Ehrenfellner (Austria), Gabor Molnar (Hungary), Tim Denyer (Great Britain), James McGuire (USA), Mark Bayliss (Great Britain), Andrew Keegan (Australia), John Downes (Ireland), Steve Payne (Australia), Guy Moar (Australia), Anton Floh (Austria), Neil Drinkwater (Great Britain), Steffan Sarkin (USA), Armin-Johannes Wunder (Germany), Giorgio Vanerio (Italy), Adam Szendrei (Hungary), Reto Wassmer (Switzerland), Paul Gough (Great Britain), Felix Lenz (Germany), Barry Adams (Great Britain), Norbert Wild (Germany), Pavel Dagorov (Switzerland), Bernhard Zumbrunn (Switzerland), Abhejali Bernardova (Czech Republic), Deidre Ward (Ireland), Julie Ann Galloway (USA), Sorcha Barry (Ireland), Christina Franke (Germany), Christiane Vendel (Germany), Leanne Harling (Great Britain), Karen McEvoy (Ireland), Lucinda Pollington (Great Britain), Victoria Thorpe (Great Britain), Kate Mason (Great Britain), Vasanti Niemz (Germany) and Georgina Hosford (Great Britain).

Photo by Bijoy Imhof + Khagana Kunz.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Hot Swimming Around Key West

With 800-yard, 1-mile and 2-mile swims preceding the start of Florida's 12.5-mile FKCC Swim Around Key West, the beach was buzzing early with activity by swimmers, kayakers, and event volunteers.

127 swimmers participated in this year's FKCC Swim Around Key West in the 90°F (32°C) water and blazing hot sun.

Lori Bosco and her team calculated the tides and currents just right, enabling the swimmers to be pulled along a swift current along the course.

Ramses Rodriques won the race 4 hours and 16 minutes with Kimberly Plewa swimming to victory on the women's side in 5 hours and 33 minutes.

Lori commented, "Although it was one of the hottest swims we’ve done in a while, everyone persevered against the heat to achieve their personal best times."

Solo Finishers included the following swimmers:

Ramses Rodriques (Florida), 4:16:00
Eric Sullivan (Florida), 4;26:59
Andrew McMorrow (Massachusetts), 4:39:16
Brian LaJoie (Florida), 4:41:00
Boris Fernandez (Florida), 4:44:29
Russell Harbach (Florida), 4:49:43
Eric Ruckel (South Carolina), 4:55:28
Matthew Mulroney (Massachusetts), 5:13:42
Ryan Lindner (Florida), 5:23:55
Kimberly Plewa (New Jersey), 5:33:12
Michelle Nelson (Florida), 5:36;29
Joe Young (Colorado), 5:41:35
Kyle Krugler (Florida), 5:52:46
Edward Rada (Florida), 5:55:38
Stephen Gonot (Florida), 5:57:06
Karen Fair Story (Massachusetts), 5:57:29
Kyle Bennett (Florida), 5:59:09
Peter Willmott (Florida), 6:03:10
Kenny Brighton (Florida), 6:03:40
Marc Pelletier (Florida), 6:07:01
Shannon Blake (Massachusetts), 7:11:47
Sergio Radovicic (Florida), 7:16:26
Glenn Sarifin (Florid), 7:59:00
Thomas Krasner (Florida), 7:59:26
Hal Clardendon (Nebraska), 8:00:23

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

The Ups And Downs Of Circumnavigating Beginish Island

July 17th's Beginish Island Swim in Kerry, Ireland showcased a tough course under overcast skies - for the second year running.

"But we had record completion times," said Ned Denison who finished first in 16:24. The waves, the currents, the tidal flow and the backwash from the island cliffs can be seen in the video prepared by Ken O'Mahony:



Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Rondi Davies Defends Her Title At The Kingdom Swim

This past Saturday, 195 swimmers, ages ranging from 7 to 68 years old took to the waters of Lake Memphremagog in Newport, Vermont.

The Kingdom Swim 10-mile, 3-mile, 1-mile, ¼-mile and 100-yard races were held in nearly perfect conditions as part of the Kingdom Aquafest.

Rondi Davies drove up from New York City and successfully defended her 10-mile title by beating Joe Sheehan Mass 3:56:49 to 4:03:05.

Swimmers, their kayakers, and their families came from 26 different states, Mexico, and India to participate in the swim.

Swapnali Yadav, an 11-year-old from Mumbai, and 17-year-old Michael Happ were the female and male youth winners of the 10-miler.

Swimmers collectively raised over US$27,000 to support the IROC's Healthy Changes Initiative. The Initiative is an exercise program and discounted membership for people suffering from chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis as well as cancer patients, cancer survivors, and seniors over the age of 65.

Top 10-mile female finishers:

1. Rondi Davies, New York (40) 3:56:49
2. Tobey-Anne Saracino, New York (34) 4:14:28
3. Kelly Parker Palace, Florida (48) 4:16:27
4. Marcella MacDonald, Connecticut (46), 4:27:36
5. Kate Radville, Massachusetts (27) 4:38:33

Top 10-mile male finishers:

1. Joseph Sheehan, Massachusetts (38) 4:03:05
2. Glenn Mills, Maryland (48) 4:07:14
3. David Dammerman, New York (41) 4:16:53
4. Gil Sharon, Massachusetts (36) 4:17:00
5. Andy Weinberg, Vermont (39) 4:23:19

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Invasion From Down Under

Open water correspondent and Fran Schnarr Memorial Swim race director Bea Hartigan provided this article:

When Surrey Park Swim Club coach Dave Kelsheimer learned that this year’s Fran Schnarr Memorial Swim included a 10K race in addition to shorter races, he started planning for his Australian swimmers to mak a team trip to America.

Surrey Park, a team with over 100 years of history, scheduled a tour to New York and the Cayman Islands their winter school vacation. In New York, 12 Surrey Park swimmers were entered in the 2K, 3K, 5K and 10K events.

Closer to home, the Long Beach Aquatic Club entered 30 swimmers and Three Village Swim Club entered 57.

Jack Fabian, coach of the Greenwood Memorial Swim Club and world 5K champion Eva Fabian, also brought Max Fabian and Drew Ledwith who went one and two in the 10K.

In the 5K, 14-year-old Kylie Mitchell won the female division followed by Yuria Haruki and Agata Michalak from the Laguardia Aquatic Club. On the boy's side, Adrien Hoskins and Brandon Jinn went one-two for Greenwood with Matt Darcy of Three Village rounding out the top three.

114 younger swimmers entered the shorter races that were parallel to the shoreline. Their counterparts, the masters swimmers ranging frm 33 to 58 years, raced a separately scored 5K event. Anna Armentrout, Carmen Menocal and Carol Moore went 1-2-3 among the women and Shawn Drum, John Needham and Michael Wright did the same on the men's side.

7-time world professional marathon swimming champion Shelley Taylor-Smith also provided a swim clinic for the participants that was very well received.

Photo by Jo Rambo, courtesy of The Water Blog.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Man vs. Woman vs. Wild (World Marathon Swim Records)

In a cursory review of the world marathon swimming records in various channels and lakes around the world, it appears that women are holding their own against the men.

The list below is only a very short list of all the world records in marathon swimming. With over 70% of the Earth covered in water, the number of records and locations to swim are numerous and potentially endless.

If you know of additional records, please send the name, country, year and time to World Marathon Swimming Records.

Females who hold overall marathon records include Karen Burton of the USA holds the fastest Catalina Channel crossing from Catalina to the California mainland in 7 hours and 43 minutes.

Penny Dean of the USA holds the fastest Catalina Channel crossing from California to Catalina Island in 7 hours and 15 minutes.

Denise Anderson of New Zealand holds the fastest Cook Strait crossing (from South Island to North Island) in 5 hours and 4 minutes.

Cindy Cleveland of the USA holds the fastest crossing of Monterey Bay, south of San Francisco, as well as the fastest circumnavigation around Catalina Island.

Julia Bradshaw of the UK holds the fastest butterfly-only English Channel crossing of 14 hours and 18 minutes.

Tina Neil of the USA holds the fastest backstroke-only English Channel crossing in 13 hours and 22 minutes.

Tina Neil also holds the fastest backstroke-only Catalina Channel crossing in 10 hours and 37 minutes.

Alison Streeter of England holds the fastest circumnavigation of Jersey (Round Jersey) in 9 hours and 53 minutes.

Penny Palfrey of Australia (shown above swimming) holds the fastest San Miguel Channel (30 miles from San Miguel Island to the California mainland near Santa Barbara) in 11 hours and 29 minutes.

Penny also holds the fastest 30-mile Alenuihaha Channel crossing (Hawaii to Maui) in 14 hours and 51 minutes.

Penny also holds the fastest Santa Barbara Channel (40 miles from Santa Barbara Island to the Calfornia mainland) in 17 hours and 53 minutes.

Shelley Taylor-Smith holds the fastest circumnavigation around Manhattan Island in New York in 5 hours and 45 minutes - a record that some men are going to attempt to break on September 10th.

On the men's side on the equation, here are some records and record holders:

Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria (holds the fastest English Channel crossing (England-to-France) in 6 hours and 57 minutes (shown above) although the overall English Channel record has been held by several women throughout history from Gertrude Ederle and Greta Andersen to Lynne Cox and Penny Dean).

Stéphane Lecat of France holds the fastest 32K crossing of lac St-Jean in Quebec, Canada in 6 hours and 22 minutes.

Paul Asmuth of the USA holds the fastest two-way (64K) crossing of lac St-Jean in Quebec, Canada in 17 hours and 6 minutes.

John Kinsella of the USA holds the fastest (50K) crossing of Lake Ontario in Canada in 13 hours and 49 minutes.

Richard Davey of the UK holds the fastest English Channel crossing (France-to-England - a direction no longer swum as a one-way crossing) in 8 hours and 5 minutes.

Philip Rush of New Zealand holds the fastest two-way English Channel crossing in 16 hours and 10 minutes.

Philip also holds the fastest three-way English Channel crossing in 28 hours and 21 minutes.

Fredrik Jacques of Belgium holds the fastest breaststroke-only English Channel crossing of 13 hours and 31 minutes.

Kevin Murphy of England holds the fastest North (Irish) Channel crossing (Ireland-to-Scotland) in 11 hours and 21 minutes and the fastest crossing (Scotland-to-Ireland) in 17 hours and 17 minutes.

Casey Glover of New Zealand holds the fastest Cook Strait crossing (North Island-to-South Island) in 4 hours and 37 minutes.

Philip Rush holds the fastest two-way Cook Strait crossing in 16 hours and 16 minutes.

Philip also holds the fastest one-way crossing of Lake Taupo in New Zealand in 10 hours and 14 minutes and the fastest two-way crossing.

Chris Palfrey of Australia holds the fastest Molokai Channel crossing (between Oahu and Molokai) in 12 hours and 53 minutes.

Georgios Charcharis of Greece holds the fastest Strait of Gibraltar crossing (between Spain and Morocco) in 2 hours and 16 minutes.

Mark Saliba of Australia holds the fastest Rottnest Channel crossing (Western Australia to Rottnest Island) in 4 hours and 15 seconds.

Ned Denison of Ireland holds the fastest Santa Cruz Channel (20 miles from Santa Cruz Island to the California mainland near Santa Barbara) in 10 hours and 27 minutes.

Marc Lewis of the USA holds the fastest Santa Rosa Channel (30 miles from Santa Rosa Island to the California mainland near Santa Barbara) in 15 hours and 46 minutes.

John York holds the fastest two-way crossing of the Catalina Channel in 16 hours and 42 minutes.

Steven Munatones of the USA holds the fastest Tsugaru Channel crossing from Hokkaido-to-Honshu in 6 hours and 39 minutes and from Honshu-to-Hokkaido in 6 hours and 11 minutes.

Steven also holds the fastest crossing of Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan, (42K) in 10 hours and 36 minutes.

Yu Lixin of China holds the fastest crossing of Poyang Lake (Chinese: 鄱阳湖), the largest lake in China, in 4 hours and 30 minutes.

Maarouf Mohamed of Egypt holds the fastest time of 5 hours and 51 minutes in the 26.4K International Self-Transcendence Marathon Swim from Rapperswil to Zürich in Lake Zürich, Switzerland.

Nick Caine of the USA holds the fastest Anacapa Channel (Anacapa Island to the California mainland near Santa Barbara) in 5 hours and 3 minutes.

Nick Adams of England holds the fastest crossing from Jersey to France in 7 hours and 3 minutes.

Chris Derks of the USA holds the fastest completion of the 24-mile Tampa Bay Marathon Swim in 7 hours and 41 minutes.

For corrections and additions, please send the name, country, year and time to World Marathon Swimming Records.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Pony Up In The Open Water

It is not only humans who compete in open water swims. Tomorrow is the 85th annual Chincoteague Pony Swim where wild horses swim across the Assateague Channel in Virginia during slack tide.

A favorite of the Good Morning America television show, over 40,000 spectators watch the Wild Pony Swim where up to 175 Assateague Ponies swim.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

10 x Strait Of Gibraltar

With great conditions, an interational group of marathon swimmers tackled the Strait of Gibraltar where ten athletes ultimately crossed from Spain to Morocco

Spaniards Juan Domínguez, Jorge Estalella, José Antonio Peix, José María López and Jorge Balbas, Australians Brendan Capll and Ky Hurst, and Americans Kevin Owens, Amy Marie Aukstikalnis and Alan Morelli completed the unprecedented mass crossing. The wetsuited group completed the crossing between 4 hours 53 minutes and 5 hours 8 minutes.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

All Smiles At The Frances Thornton Memorial Galway Bay Swim

Swimmers were all smiles at the end of the 5th Frances Thornton Memorial Galway Bay Swim in Galway, Ireland this past weekend.

Ronan Collins, co-organizer with Kevin Thornton whose mother is the event namesake, won overall in 3 hours and 3 minutes, followed by Sorcha Barry and Susana Murphy, both in 3 hours and 4 minutes.

Amiee Walsh (3:10), Stephen Early (3:17), Laoise Mc Namara (3:21), Sarah Early (3:22), Jillian Coll (3:25), Simon Flatley (3:28), Martin Kenirons (3:36), Kevin Thornton (3:38), Grainne Reed (4:00), Sinead Roche (4:11), Micheal Hanly (4:13), Cathal Hanly (4:23), Fergal O Dowd (5:00), Matt O Flaherty (5:01), Alice Flood (5:12) and Martin Mc Carthy (5:33) also finished.

One notable finisher was Ernesto Antonio (5:22) who is survived - and flourished - as a heart transplant recipient. As a charity swim, over €160,000 has been raised for Cancer Care West as a result of this swim and its four earlier edition.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Smiles Of Open Water Swimming Champions

Steeve Tremblay provided post-race photos of the medalists at the recent FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup race that was held in Roberval, Canada. The smiles of the medalists lit up the finish area.

Chip Peterson and Christine Jennings took the top honors (full results posted here).

In the women's race, Christine (shown touching first in the photo on left) just barely out-touched Eva Fabian (shown touching a split second later).

Since moving from sea-level in Minnesota to her home state of Colorado and training in the high altitude in the Rocky Mountains, Christine has really started to come on strong at the world level.

Despite her close loss - and even after she was red-carded while leading the world 10K championships - Eva's smile continues to light up the shoreline.

Her infectious enthusiasm for all things open water is contagious.





Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Britain's Got Talent

Great Britain has provided all kinds of cultural sensations over time - from the Beatles to Susan Boyle.

Jackie Cobell has not only captured the attention of her marathon swimming colleagues when she completed a 28 hour and 44 minute English Channel crossing, but also the adulation and respect of the general public.

Her humility, grit, determination and sheer will power are something to see. In her recent interviews, the 56-year-old explained.

"It was quite cold. It got very tiring at the end. But I kept driving myself because I really wanted to achieve it, not only for myself, but also for my friends and family as well."

"I did it to get fit, but I would like to do it for charity, namely Huntington Disease. I trained for five years. I wore my shoulders out. I would do it again, but perhaps I would also like to do something different. Like the Alcatraz Swim."

Like the Beatles and Susan Boyle, here's to Jackie coming to America.



Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

They Have It...We're Working On It

Triathlon has it. Cycling has it. Running has it. Car racing has it. Endurance sports of every kind have it.

But open water swimming is working on it.

And we foresee breakthroughs in the technology very soon.

Already the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in New York City and Quebec's Traversee Internationale du lac St-Jean, the world's richest professional marathon swim, and a handful of other races, utilize GPS technology that track their athletes along the course.

For those fans, friends and family who are not at the race venue, GPS tracking allows them to get a general idea of where they are on the course. Similar to the SPOT Satellite Messenger and various other technologies that are used by channel swimmers from England to Catalina, these GPS tracking devices periodically pinpoint the swimmer's location and post their general location online. For a solo swimmer or for a competition where the athletes are spread out all over the course (like in the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim or the Traversee, it works well and serves its purpose.

But for close races where athletes are bunched together like they are at major international competitions and top-level mass participation races, the GPS technology which generally uses wrist or ankle transponder does not work well. For various reasons, the GPS positioning is not exact and the athletes in a pack all appear to be one giant blob online. This is the reason why high-speed cameras are used at major international competitions in order to record and confirm placing in the event.

GPS is not accurate enough for timing. The chips that were used at the world championships by Powerhouse Timing are RFID-based with a battery (note: land-based sports generally do not have batteries). At the world championships, Powerhouse Timing used a wire across the water level to get its accuracy down to a thousandth of a second. "Any time you get away from a physical plane, the algorithmic work on the software side is far more complex," explained Jason Moody.

Practical problems exist all over the place: the size of the battery needed to power the GPS devices, the size of the GPS devices needed to properly triangulate the position and even the location of the devices that are placed on the athlete's body.

If you could imagine that if one swimmer placed the GPS device on their swim cap, another swimmer placed the GPS device on their wrist and another placed the GPS device on their ankle - and they all crossed the finish line exactly as the same time, their times would be recorded separately. Even if all the GPS devices were attached to their wrists and swimmer A touched with a flat palm, swimmer B touched with an outstretched hand and swimmer C went past the finish without touching the board at all, the times would also be recorded differently.

But Professor Tim Johnson of the Wentworth Institute of Technology will be working with his intellectual colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Massachusetts Lowell to tackle - and hopefully solve - this problem of open water swimming via a water-based RFID solution.

While the Americans are looking for a solution utilizing the increasingly cost-effective and powerful RFID technology, their British colleagues are moving towards an innovative solution for the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim at the 2012 London Olympics.

The London Olympics 10K marathon swim will be a six-loop course in the Serpentine that will showcase the sport in many unique ways. The turn judges will be elevated so they can more easily see infractions around the turns, paid seating for up to 30,000 spectators will be constructed for the finish and most incredibly, donut-shaped buoys will delineate the course that will not have any straight-line tangents except for the final straightaway finish.

The donut-shaped floating buoys will have transmitters that will triangulate each swimmer’s position via GPS and transponders on the wrists of each athlete. As each swimmer passes the buoy, their position and time will be noted and posted in near real-time online for the global audience.

By tracking their position and split times (as Powerhouse Timing did at the recent world championships), fans, friends and family around the world will be able to keep up with the superstars in the sport.

Eventually, this technology will be availabe to the masses.

We cannot wait.

Photo by Dr. Jim Miller shows the athletes at the world championships swimming under the timing truss that recorded their split times on each loop via the transponders on their wrists.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Daring, Dreaming And Drama Across The Cook Strait

Thousands of swimmers have collectively crossed the Cook Strait, the Irish Channel, the Molokai Channel, the English Channel, the Catalina Channel, the Tsugaru Channel, the Strait of Gibraltar and dozens of other major channels around the world.

Successfully crossing any one of these channels or doing any marathon swim is an achievement to be proud of. But there is something special when an individual becomes the very first person to do a crossing. It requires a combination of daring, dreaming and drama.

The then 27-year-old Barry Devonport brought that sense of adventure to his home country of New Zealand on November 20, 1962 when he became the first person to swim across the 26K (16 nautical mile) Cook Strait between the North and South Islands in 11 hours and 20 minutes.

While he was celebrated as a national hero in New Zealand, his successful crossing really began eight months earlier when he pulled hypothermic on his first attempt that ended unceremoniously less than 2K from the finish.

Eleven hours after starting on Cape Terawhiti on the North Island, Barry finished on Wellington Head at the tip of the South Island. "Barrie was like the Edmund Hillary of swimming," explained Philip Rush to The Dominion Post. "He was the first to do that and nobody can ever take that away from him."

A member of the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame and the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, he is no longer with us as he passed away yesterday after a long battle with cancer at the age of 75.

The memory of the man and his feat will live long in New Zealand and marathon swimming history. 64 swimmers to date and many others over time will follow in his wake.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Making Friends And Bridging Cultures Through Open Water

Marcos Díaz continues to make his way around the world, making friends at both the highest political levels and at the grassroots.

Marcos Díaz arrived last week in Rabat, Morocco in preparation for his third continental crossing from Africa (Morocco) to Europe (Spain) across the Strait of Gibraltar (Morocco to Spain).

As usual in all of his swims, Marcos and his team spent time doing social work, visiting governmental authorities and giving interviews.

For tomorrow's Strait of Gibraltar swim, Wilfred Lempke, the United Nations Secretary General Special Advisor on Sports for Development and Peace, helped promote the swim.

The local media - on both sides of the continental divide - continue to showcase his goals and his incredible charisma that draws many to support the swim.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Born To Be Wild From Rostrevor To Warrenpoint

The Ireland Long Distance swimming Association-sanctioned 3.5K East Coast Adventure Gannaway Swim Wetsuit Challeneg from Rostrevor to Warrenpoint this past weekend in Northern Ireland saw Colleen Mallon set another a new record of 51 minutes and 13 seconds.

Colleen continued her win streak after victories in Ireland Long Distance Swimming Association events at Lough Sheelin, Copeland Island and Clewbay. Bill Donnelly (shown on left) finished after Colleen in 56:15 to take first place on the men's side. Catherine Hanratty (56:53) and Jeff Wilson (1:00:17) followed in third and fourth respectively.

The swim, which started in the 1970s, was resurrected in 2006 and has seen an increase in entries every year since then. Last year, a wetsuit division was added to encourage other swimmers to take part. In the 16°C water with more-than-usual jellyfish, the wetsuiters were welcomed to the traditional open water swimming world with smiles and open arms for the next swim in this area is the Round the Rock Open 1.5K Handicap race on July 31st.



Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Masters Of The Open Water Universe

Masters aquatic athletes from all over the globe are slated to begin competition at the 13th FINA World Masters Championships in Sweden tomorrow.

The Championships will conclude with a highly popular 3K open water swim on August 7th in Lake Delsjön in Göteborg, Sweden.

With age-group divisions between 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, 85-89 and 90-94 years, the men and women will begin together with an in-water start. Wetsuits may be worn, but swimmers who wear them are ineligible for medals. A wetsuit is defined by FINA as a swimsuit that has not been approved for swimming by FINA.

The water is so clean in Lake Delsjön, which serves as the main fresh water reservoir for the city of Göteborg, that the organizers state, "There is no need for a shower after the race."

6,600 masters athletes from 74 countries will enter, with the majority of the athletes (5,000) participating in the pool swimming events and 977 athletes entered in the open water race.

Thes open water swimmers include Bill Walker (born 1929 from Australia), Espir Aguad (born 1930 from Chile), Guiho Gabriel (1930 from France), Alfio Finy Fichera (born 1928 from Italy), Sydney Salek (born 1930 from New Zealand, shown on left), Daniel Duran (born 1930 from Uruguay) and Robert Beach (born 1930 from USA) who are all entered in the 80-84 year-old age-group.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Christine Jennings Defends Her World Cup 10K Title

Christine Jennings of Colorado turned the tables on a few of her rivals by winning her second straight FINA 10K World Cup in Roberval, Canada today.

In a classic sprint to the finish, Christine overcame world 5K champion Eva Fabian and world 5K championship bronze medalist Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil down the stretch to defend her title.

Photos by Steeve Trembla show Christine (left) and Eva (right) before the race.

Christine, who suffered a chipped tooth and fat lip at the world championships, and Eva, with her goggles firmly taped to her cap, have both learned to expect everything and anything at the highest echelons of the sport.

The final results are as follows:

1. Christine Jennings (USA), 2:09:35.63
2. Eva Fabian (USA), 2:09:35.73
3. Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA), 2:09:38.21
4. Emily Hanson (USA), 2:09:40.10
5. Karla Sitic (CRO), 2:10:09.33
6. Jana Pechanova (CZE), 2:10:09.57
7. Olga Beresnyeva (UKR), 2:12:50.60
8. Bonnie MacDonald (AUS), 2:16:01.28
9. Inha Kotsur (AZE), 2:19:47.14
10. Beatrice Pineau (CAN), 2:20:01.11
11. Esther Nunez Morera (ESP), 2:20:54.14
12. Alejandra Gonzalez (MEX), 2:21:41.92
13. Heidi George (USA), 2:23:47.64
14. Odette Saldivar (MEX), 2:26:48.83
Julianne Brown (CAN), DNF

Upper photo by Dr. Jim Miller.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Chip Peterson Looking Forward To A Bright Future

A few days after the world championships concluded with many swimmers gone to attend the upcoming European Open Water Swimming Championships, Chip Peterson used his classic open water swimming form and strong kick to top American rivals Fran Crippen and Alex Meyer in the FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup in Roberval, Canada today.

Chip, the 2005 world 10K champion whose sighting technique is one of the best in the business (see above racing against Fran), appears to be returning to his old groove - making the already deep American open water swimming team even more formidable. Now under the tutelage of Olympic coach Jon Urbanchek in Southern California, Chip's return to form is timely with less than 12 months to the first Olympic 10K marathon swim qualifier.

Fran shown on left with Chip in the middle and Chad Ho on the right after the men competed and sprinted to the finish in a pack.

Photos above by Dr. Jim Miller, the FINA Sports Medicine Delegate.

Photos on left by Steeve Tremblay.

Results were as follows:

1. Chip Peterson (USA), 2:05:13.15
2. Fran Crippen (USA), 2:05:15.18
3. Chad Ho (RSA), 2:05:20.70
4. Alex Meyer (USA), 2:05:46.63
5. Sergiy Fesenko (AZE), 2:05:54.56
6. Allan Do Carmo (BRA), 2:05:58.84
7. Richard Weinberger (CAN), 02:06:09.16
8. David Browne (AUS), 2:06:09.86
9. Petar Stoychev (BUL), 2:06:15.76
10. Filipe Alcantara (BRA), 2:06:51.16
11. Sumuel De Bona (BRA), 2:07:21.53
12. Simon Tobin (CAN), 2:11:40.21
13. Evgenij Pop Acev (MKD), 2:11:40.48
14. Barton Wells (USA), 2:14:52.90

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

The Impact Of Cool Waters Of The Serpentine At The Olympics

Simon Hart of the Telegraph Newspaper reported that Keri-Anne Payne's main rivals at the 2012 London Olympics 10K marathon swim will be Larisa Ilchenko, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist, and Martina Grimaldi (shown on left), the 10K world champion.

Those are three great selections for medal hopefuls, although Martina may have the upper hand if the water in Hyde Park's Serpentine is a bit cooler than usual.

The influence of cooler waters on the elite swimmers is partly explained below by six-time 5K world champion Thomas Lurz. It will certainly be interesting to see how the elite athletes adapt to the cooler waters of the Serpentine in August 13-14, 2012 at the Olympics. They seemed to adapt well to the very warm water and humid conditions at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, so the opposite will most likely be the case, too in London.



Video courtesy by Shelley Taylor-Smith.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Superstars Look On While Open Water Stars Compete

At the August 22nd Pan Pacific Swimming Championships 10K Marathon Swim special guests, including Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, are scheduled to attend.

Cheering along the shoreline in Long Beach's Marine Stadium, aquatic's greatest superstars will show their support for their open water swimming teammates.

On the women's side, Brazil's Poliana Okimoto, the 2009 FINA World Cup champion, 2010 world 5K champion Eva Fabian from New Hampshire, multi-time USA Swimming national champion and Olympian Chloe Sutton, 2009 world 5K champion Melissa Gorman of Australia, NCAA champion Emily Brunemann from Michigan, world championship 4th-place finisher Christine Jennings from Colorado and top 10 world championship swimmer Cara Baker of New Zealand should put on quite a show in the flat-water course.

On the men's side, world 10K championship silver medalist Andrew Gemmell, world 5K and 10K championship bronze medalist Fran Crippen, world 25K champion Alex Meyer (shown above), 2005 world 10K champion Chip Peterson and the studly Australian duo of Rhys Mainstone and Andrew Beato will knock heads in the five-loop 10K course.

USA Swimming reported that the following countries confirmed their attendance at the Pan Pacific Championships: Argentina, Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Namibia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, USA and Zimbabwe.

Photo of Alex Meyer by Dr. Jim Miller.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Persistence Pays Off After 28 Hours and 44 Minutes

Jackie Cobell captured the attention of the global English Channel swimming community by her daunting 28 hours and 44 minute crossing yesterday.

Family, fans and friends from around the world followed Jackie's swim via the Channel Swimmers Google Group and track her location via SPOT as Lance Oram and the crew of the Sea Satin patiently escorted her.

In setting the longest time for a solo swim across the English Channel, breaking the former record of Henry Sullivan in 1923 (26:50) Jackie become an inspirational icon for many who dream of crossing the English Channel.

Her persistence, backbone, decisiveness, determination, doggedness and sheer grit in the cold water through the night and across the tides will encourage many for years to come.

As suggested by Forest Nelson, what is incredible is to compare the enormity of Jackie's 28-hour swim with Philip Rush's three-way crossing of 28 hours and 21 minutes. Both, for various reasons, were incredible endeavors that demonstrated the majesty of the human spirit.

Graeme Schlachter recreated Jackie's route across the Channel via for her SPOT tracking above.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

AvidaSwim In the Pool

The New York Times reported on the US$14,950 AvidaSwim system that collects, tracks and analyzes real-time information from swimmers while they are training.

AvidaSwim has five wireless sensors that are worn on the head, wrists and feet and monitor pace, stroke count and distance per stroke.

If the swimmer needs instruction from the coach while they are training, a head sensor connected to an earpiece allows coaches to talk with their swimmer.

Already, the University of Michigan men's swim team is using the device. Coaches can use the live instrument panel during workout so data is collected and the coach's comments are synched to video (e.g., checking the breakout and commenting on pacing and stroke technique).

We can imagine AvidaSwim will be on the shopping list of many top programs and passionate triathletes. But can it be used in the open water races to aid with navigation, pacing and positioning?

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

A Perfect Balance Of Work, Home, Family And The Ocean

Last month, Penny Palfrey was named Townsville City Council’s Senior Sportsperson of the Year for the third year straight - another award for the marathon swimmer from Australia who was recently inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.

Senior, junior or somewhere between, Penny has been outstanding.

She was awarded based off of her 2009 swims in the Alenuihaha and Auau Channels in Hawaii, her swim from Santa Barbara Island to the Californian mainland and her second overall placing at the 48.5K Manhattan Island Marathon Swim.

Mayor Cr Tyrell explained why Penny was recognized. "These awards are essential in spotlighting the achievements of amateur Townsville athletes, coaches, officials and teams. It also pays hommage to those that work tirelessly behind the scenes to get these athletes to the top of their field. Penny is tremendous role model and a worthy winner of the city’s top sporting honour. She has shown enormous determination and extraordinary perseverance to achieve all of this success and at the same time, find a balance with work, home and family life."

Photo from Penny Palfrey's 72-mile (115K) Kaieiewaho Channel attempt early this year between the islands of Oahu and Kauai in Hawaii.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Swimming For Three Cups Of Tea

Patti Bauernfeind, the world record holder (10:38) for the Lake Tahoe crossing, is attempting a Monterey Bay Swim on August 21st.

To date, Cindy Cleveland is the only person to successfully swim the 23 miles (37K) across the Bay - just south of San Francisco - in 1980.

The water is cool - 56°F (13°C) - and can whip up tremendous turbulence with strong winds and an amazing amount of marine life from seals to jellyfish.

"There are a lot of amazing creatures that thrive in Monterey Bay including the nettle jellyfish. They have been swarming in unanticipated numbers over the last few years. The jellies may be the biggest challenge of the swim," said Patti, a marketing manager for Taleo Corporation.

"I doing the swim as part of a fundraising effort for the Three Cups of Tea. My goal is to help raise money towards a goal of US$50,000 to build a school in Afghanistan. I volunteer tutoring Afghan refugee kids in the San Francisco Bay area. I know first hand what kids in Afghanistan have suffered through and education is the key to a life of hope and peace."

Patti, the world record holder for swimming across Lake Tahoe, works full-time, but has enough time to help others in a cold-water solo challenge across Monterey Bay.

With less than a month to go, Patti's training is going well. "I'm building up to 50K per week during the last 3 weeks with a long swim of 20K+ every other weekend. I include strength training and yoga into my swim training, but not as much as I'd like. I train with the San Ramon Livermore Valley team under Rich Thornton. We focus a lot on balance (long and short sets with no pull buoy, just a strap and paddles). He also has me focused on getting a cruise pace as close to a fast pace as possible without accelerating my heart rate."

After focusing on the fundamentals in the pool, Patti balances her training with open water sessions. "I spend a third of my water time in open water. I get in as much cold water swimming as possible so I train in San Francisco bay and Monterey Bay. I focus a lot on what I eat and supplements. I had a metabolic type test and essential minerals test done through Bioletics and adjusted what I eat. It has made a huge difference in how I feel especially after 20K+ swims. I add amino acid to all my drinks throughout the day, including during my training swims which also has made a big difference."

We'll drink to that.

For more information on Patti's swim, go here.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

The Solitude And Simplicity Of Open Water Swimming

During the last stages of the 25K world championship race, we were impressed with the last feeding done by both Valerio Cleri and Alex Meyer. At the last feeding station - despite the the fact that the two men had been battling shoulder-to-shoulder for over 5 hours, they had the presence of mind to take the time to comfortably take a hydration break (about 4 seconds).

Alex came into the feeding station slightly in front and took a long swig from his water bottle handed to him by his coach. Valerio passed him on his left and initially appeared to use this opportunity to put on a surge to create separation between him and Alex at a critical stage in the race. But Valerio was simply swimming towards his own coach further down the feeding station. Valerio similarly took a nice long swig (4-5 seconds). They eyed each other - silently acknowledging each other's abilities - as they head - into the final last 1.8K sprint.

It reminded us of two boxers entering into the last round where they touch gloves before they begin unmercifully pounding each other. The mutual respect for each other's talents and tenacity was defined at that very moment.

After the men were properly hydrated for their last push and final sprint, they took off sprinting stroke-for-stroke, eyeing each other as they swam shoulder-to-shoulder down the backstretch to their memorable finish.

This unfathomable amount of energy, speed and endurance that the men showed - as they powered through the 1-2 foot surface chop against the wind while they surprisingly pulled away from Petar Stoychev, the English Channel world record holder - is rooted in their approach to training.

Valerio is known for his voracious appetite for training - up to 25,000 meters a day - constantly pushing himself to sheer exhaustion. Alex, a recent graduate from Harvard University, takes an intellectual and philosophical approach to training which well suits his low-key, but competitive, nature.

Alex, who has continued to improve as an athlete despite his heavy load of academics, does his open water training in Walden Pond - sometimes with the women's world 5K champion Eva Fabian. Walden Pond, located outside of Boston, was made famous by American author and naturalist Henry David Thoreau.

With this famous pond in mind and the solitude that open water swimmers face every single time they enter the water in mind, we are reminded of one of Thoreau's beliefs about the beneficial effects of living simply and close to nature. "I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude."

The solitude and simplicity inherent in swimming in one's natural environment is something that is easily understood the world over by athletes of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.

Photo of a focused Alex Meyer during the final pre-race briefing before the 25K race by Dr. Jim Miller.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

Fat Salmon Swim From Above

Liz Rosen of the Fat Salmon Swim in Seattle, Washington took some outstanding photos at this past weekend's event where 326 swimmers out of 326 participants finished the race under calm conditions.

The results of the 1.2-mile and 3.2-mile swims are posted here.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones