Courtesy of Phil White.
Ocean swimmers deal with all kinds of marine life: sharks, jellyfish, dolphins, and whales.
Lake swimmers also deal with different forms of life: cryptozoological creatures like Nessie in Loch Ness, Tessie in Lake Tahoe, and Memphre in Lake Memphremagog.
When swimmers complete full unassisted crossings of Loch Ness, Lake Tahoe, and Lake Memphremagog, they are celebrated as completing the Triple Crown of Lake Monster Swims, a swim series originally conceived and established by Elaine Kornbau Howley, Sarah Thomas, Craig Lenning, and Phil White of the Kingdom Game and the Northeast Kingdom Open Water Swimming Association.
Loch Ness is the coldest, often running close to 10°C. Lake Memphremagog is the longest at 40.2 km with frisky weather changes. Lake Tahoe is 34.2 km at high altitude (1,896 meters) with its own share of rapidly changing conditions.
This summer, two Anke Höhne (55, Germany, IISA bio here, @hohnesnke) and Dave Berry (51, Ireland, MSF bio here, @daveberry75) achieved the Triple Crown, becoming the 8th and 9th people in history to accomplish this global adventure.
Monster Crown Swimmers
- Sarah Thomas, USA on 22 August 2015
- Craig Lenning, USA on 22 August 2015
- Elaine Howley, USA in July 2016.
- Pat Gallant-Charette, USA on 1 August 2019
- Steve Stievenart, France in 2022
- Shannon House Keegan, USA in 2023
- Piotr Biankowski, Poland in 2024
- Anke Höhne, Germany on 17 August 172026
- Dave Berry, Ireland on 8 September 2026
Anke Höhne’s Monster Journey
Höhne swam across Loch Ness in 2022, Lake Memphremagog in 2025 and Lake Tahoe on August 17th 2026.
Höhne’s first big swim was the Strait of Gibraltar in 2015. She achieved the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming in 2023 and has completed numerous other swims.
Dave Berry’s Monster Journey
Berry completed swims across Loch Ness and Lake Tahoe in 2025, and completed his third swim across Lake Memphremagog on September 8th 2026.
Berry’s open water swimming journey is partly centered on Triple Crown challenges. With the Triple Crown of Lake Monster Swims under his cap, Berry has now completed six different Triple Crowns:
- Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming in 2023
- Original Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming in 2023 (UK)
- Irish Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming in 2023
- California Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming in 2025
- Cape Town South Africa Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming in 2026
- Triple Crown of Lake Monster Swims in 2026
© 2026 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“
World Open Water Swimming Federation, an exclusively human-powered project