Big-time Swimming In Store During Cork Distance Week

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Headlined by Oceans Seven swimmers Alessandra Rossi Cima (Brazil, 51, MSF bio here, @ale_rossi_cima_swims, shown below on left) and Liz Fry (67, USA, MSF bio here), two-way North Channel swimmer Brian Foster (18, Ireland, MSF bio here, shown below on right), and International Marathon Swimming Hall of Famers Courtney Moates Paulk (56, USA, MSF bio here), Marcia Cleveland (62, USA, MSF bio here), and Ned Denison (68, USA/Ireland, MSF bio here), and ice swimmer Nikki Pope (58, Great Britain MSF bio here), Cork Distance Week (CDW) opens this Saturday, June 20th June.

The world’s most demanding training camp continues to next Sunday, June 28th.

Participation requires cold water hardening, marathon swimming experience, and a tough mindset, but the week tends to make its swimmer better acclimated to cold, tough conditions, better suited to long marathon swims, grow everyone’s personal global network of friends, and helps build self-confidence to reach one’s goals in the open water.

Established in 2009 (first CDW swimmers are shown above) and centered around Sandycove Island, CDW has gotten no softer or easier over the years as growing legions of marathon swimmers, channel swimmers, ice swimmers, and winter swimmers – and those who strive to call themselves such – continue to apply to one of its coveted spot.

For the second year in a row, Steve Sutton (60, USA, MSF bio here) and his son Tyler Sutton (22, USA, MSF bio here, shown below] traveled over 8,300 km from Southern California to participate in the 9-day CDW. They prepared from their home base of Zuma Beach in Southern California for another experience of Irish hardening. They knew that people at CDW are “here to train for something big” including solos and relays across the North Channel, Fastnet, Irish Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, Bristol Channel, English Channel, and Lake Tahoe.

Serious folk intent on serious swimming in cold water, lining up on shore with many veterans from around the world.

Sutton wrote about his experience at CDW a few years ago, “I swam with Tyler. We did about 8 km each day, but there were also point-to-point swims, a 6-hour optional English Channel qualification swim, and a 4-stage Champion of Champions competition around Sandycove Island (9 am > 5 laps + rest + 2 pm > 3 laps + rest + 4 pm > 1 lap). Workouts include a combination of both competition and some pace [work].

The biggest challenge among the swimmers was to see people do 2 laps around Sandycove Island? or 3 laps? or 4 laps? or 5 laps in 2 or so hours in 12-13°C (53-55°F) water.

There were lots of jellies – I got a few myself, mostly on entry. I palm the jellies like a water polo ball and then push them through and out on exit or off to side. There were also little translucent ones, white ones, and dark ones, crabs on the bottom of rock shelves, bait fish, goats on Sandycove Island that watched us, and suspicious birds that monitored the swimmers.

There was an army of amazing volunteers that kayak ribs on shore, checked people in and out of the water. It was very safe and well run. The cooking was good and the feeding of swimmers after the swims was great with a large mobile sauna. Everyone who I met was friendly, supportive, and shared stories.

The two towns – Kinsale and Cork – are different and both are lovely. The Kinsale people are very friendly and helpful. The scenery is green lush with amazing food; this is the culinary capital of Ireland with a robust pub life and great lively music and song, filled with enthusiastic rugby and football fans. Among the friendly local people, there are very knowledgeable sailors and inspirational seafaring folks, a rugged self-sufficient, community-oriented group of people live here.”

For more information on CDW, visit here. The 2026 participants are listed below:

“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“

World Open Water Swimming Federation, a human-powered project

New Open Water Swimming Educational and Motivational Course – register here

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