American Dave Barra completed one of the most famous professional marathon swims in the world – the Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean yesterday in 12 hours 50 minutes.

The prolific amateur from New York found out what many professional marathon swimmers have long known, “It was easily the toughest sweet water swim I’ve ever done, but it was such an amazing experience. It is a top-notch organization with an army of friendly and dedicated staff members.

All the locals said conditions were great. I found it hard to come to an agreement with the minor chop. Sometimes a bigger chop works better for me.”

The Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean is one of the few races in the open water swimming world that requires prop guards on its escort and official boats.

Copyright © 2012 by Open Water Source