Adrienne Groccia Sets Record In Stage 4 Of 8 Bridges

Courtesy of Rondi Davies, Hudson River, New York Open Water.  

Two 20-something young women went 1-2 on Stage 4 – known as The Highlands – in the 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim, the longest open water swim in the world at 193 km of stage swimming in the Hudson River.

26-year-old Adrienne Groccia from New York won the 24.4 km stage in 4 hours 7 minutes, less than a minute faster than second-place 23-year-old Abigail Bergman from California who finished in 4 hours 8 minutes 41 seconds.

Race director Rondi Davies reported, “Stage 4 started out cloudy with NNW winds building to 15 mph with gusts above 20 mph. The tail winds pushed the swimmers along a fast flowing ebb, though the choppy waters were a challenge.

The tight bend in the river at World’s End blocked the wind and the second half of the swim, from West Point to the bridge, was calm and fast. The sun came out, swimmers found their groove, and pushed hard to the finish.

Adrienne Groccia, Abigail Bergman and John Batchelder raced the entire distance and all went under the course record set by 7-stager Cheryl Reinke in 2016.