Doug Allen swims. A lot. Mega distances. And has done so for many years.

For the 10th consecutive year, the 64-year-old swimmer from Texas won the annual U.S. Masters Swimming Go The Distance program.

Go The Distance is a self-directed event on the honor system that encourage USMS members to regularly swim and track their progress. Distance is the solo metric for this virtual event, not speed, time, pace, stroke, or frequency.

With one day to go, Allen has swum an average of 13,255 meters per day. More than a marathon swim every single day.

It is interesting to note that 7 of the top 10 swimmers are in their 60’s.

Top 10 USMS 2023 Go The Distance Swimmers:

1. Doug Allen (64) 3,006 miles or 4,837 km distance swum or 13,255 meters per day
2. Anton Janezich (31) 2,579 miles or 4,151 km distance swum or 11,374 meters per day
3. Melodee Liegl (56) 1,851 miles or 2,979 km distance swum or 8,163 meters per day [shown below]
4. Brian McLaughlin (68) 1,808 miles or 2,910 km distance swum or 8,163 meters per day
5. Andy Seretan (69) 1,470 miles or 2,367 km distance swum or 6,485 meters per day [shown below]
6. Sharyl Griffith (61) 1,385 miles or 2,229 km distance swum or 6,107 meters per day
7. Thomas Schwartz (63) 1,265 miles or 2,036 km distance swum or 5,580 meters per day
8. Eve Maidenberg (47) 1,204 miles or 1,938 km distance swum or 5,311 meters per day
9. Jim Wetzel (66) 1,157 miles or 1,862 km distance swum or 5,103 meters per day
10. Robert Olson (63) 1,095 miles or 1,762 distance swum or 4.829 meters per day

The 64-year-old Allen has won the last 10 consecutive USMS Go The Distance virtual events:

• 2023: 3,006.16 miles swum at the age of 64 – 13,255 meters per day
• 2022: 3,027.78 miles swum at the age of 63 – 13,350 meters per day
• 2021: 3,025.29 miles swum at the age of 62 – 13,339 meters per day
• 2020: 2,963.35 miles swum at the age of 61 – 13,069 meters per day
• 2019: 3,066.99 miles swum at the age of 60 – 13,523 meters per day
• 2018: 3,130.68 miles swum at the age of 59 – 13,804 meters per day
• 2017: 2,957.96 miles swum at the age of 58 – 13,042 meters per day
• 2016: 2,856.47 miles swum at the age of 57 – 12.595 meters per day
• 2015: 2,700.42 miles swum at the age of 56 – 11,907 meters per day
• 2014: 2,446.27 miles swum at the age of 55 – 10,786 meters per day

Allen has swum an average of 12,867 meters per day over the last decade. 12.86 km…every single day. That is, arguably, an unmatched record of discipline, dedication, and passion for all professional and amateur marathon swimmers. Over the last 10 years, Allen has swum roughly between Malibu, California to Nova Scotia, Canada each year – or 5 round trips since 2014.

Allen (second from right) is shown above with teammates Andreas Lorenz, Amanda Gentry, Magda Lopez, and Tim Howard (left to right) at the Gulf LMSC open water swimming clinic held in Lake Longhorn in Houston, Texas.

For more information on the Go The Distance program, visit here.

Data is current as of December 30th 2023 – but it is utterly impossible for anyone to come close to Allen.

© 2023 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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