Courtesy of Mark Johnston, Flathead Lake Open Water Swimmers, Montana.
The Flathead Lake Open Water Virtual Triple Crown saw its origins stem from the success of the Open Water Grand Slam in Flathead Lake in Montana during the summer of 2020.
The Virtual Triple Crown consists of three challenges:
- Stage One: Chasing the Grizzly, a 15-mile (24.1 km) width swim of Flathead Lake following the path of the 2010 Grizzly. Visit here.
- Stage Two: Taming the Monster, the 28-mile (45 km) length swim of Flathead Lake from Somers in the north to Polson in the south. Only six people have swum the length of Flathead Lake: Paul Stelter in 1986, Ron Stevens in 2005, Emily von Jentzen in 2012, Sarah Thomas in 2015, Craig Lenning in 2015, and John Cole in 2017. Visit here.
- Stage Three: Conquering the Beast, the 80-mile (128.7 km) circumnavigation swim tracing the Flathead Lake Marine Trail. Visit here.
The Beast Roster for the 127.8 km Conquering the Best circumnavigation swim include the following swimmers:
- Mike Morris, Marshall, Illinois
- Kelly Riedinger, Seattle, Washington
- Sophia Cordero, Denver, Colorado
- Laura Jane Michell, Irvine, California
- Glenn DeHekker, Whitefish, Montana
- Robin Bruce, Austin, Texas
- Trevor Ratcliff, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada
- Alison Aylesworth, Burien, Washington
- Erika Jackman, Seattle, Washington
- Ellen Shockro, Long Beach, California
- Katie Levine, Missoula, Montana
- Tracy Knight, Indianapolis, Indiana
- Janet Renner, Atherton, California
- Marlys Cappaert, Corvallis, Oregon
- Cindy Werhane, Portland, Oregon
- Carol Horowitz, Seattle, Washington
- Terry Carter, Queensland, Australia
- Axel Sondermann, Fort Worth, Texas via Germany
- Shannon House-Keegan, Talent, Oregon
- Carolyn Hewitt, Seattle, Washington
- Todd Marshall, Terre Haute, Indiana
- Heather Meadors, Terre Haute, Indiana
- Patricia Powers, Long Beach, California
- Sean Vosberg, Long Beach, California
- Joanne Menard, Scottsdale, Arizona
- Lisa Phillips, Terre Haute, Indiana
- Sophia Marnik, Whitehorse, Canada
- Anicia Criscione, Corvallis, Oregon
- Evia Nelson, Raleigh, North Carolina
- Sandy Ross, Sandpoint, Idaho
- Peggy Stringer, Helena, Montana
- Anne Hossner, Bozeman, Montana
- Kate Sheridan, Polson, Montana
- Jerrilyn Bayless, Terre Haute, Indiana
- Amy Taylor, San Jose, California
- Liz Carlin, Long Beach, California
- Veronica Hibben, Huntington Beach, California
- Ryan Provencher, Vaxjo, Sweden [shown above]
- Mark Johnston, Polson, Montana
- Tennille Irish, Geoffstown, New Hampshire
For more information, visit here.
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