Brian McLaughlin (70, MSF bio here) and Melodee Liegl (58, MSF bio here) both swim. Early. A lot. Mega distances. And they have done so diligently for many, many years.

McLaughlin from Massachusetts and Liegl from Wisconsin won the annual U.S. Masters Swimming Go The Distance  program for 2025.

McLaughlin is consistent, very consistent whether it is his daily pool workouts or marathon swims in Lake Memphremagog. One indication is the annual Kingdom Swim that is held in Vermont’s Lake Memphremagog.

• In 2011, he completed the 16.1 km Kingdom Swim in 6 hours 1 minute at the age of 56.
• In 2012, he completed the 16.1 km Kingdom Swim in 5 hours 35 minutes at the age of 57.
• In 2013, he completed the 16.1 km Kingdom Swim in 5 hours 28 minutes at the age of 58.
• In 2014, he completed the 16.1 km Kingdom Swim in 6 hours 12 minutes at the age of 59.
• In 2015, he completed the 16.1 km Kingdom Swim in 5 hours 31 minutes at the age of 60.
• In 2016, he completed the 16.1 km Kingdom Swim in 5 hours 38 minutes at the age of 61.
• In 2021, he completed the 16.1 km Kingdom Swim in 5 hours 59 minutes at the age of 66.

Liegl is also consistent as she balances her work as a biostatistician with beautiful artwork on Beaver Lake, created when she swims as the sun rises. With the preciseness of a data scientist and her Garmin watch tracker, Liegl swims specific shapes in the lake.

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.

It is interesting to note that 8 of the top 10 swimmers are either in their 60’s or 70’s.

Top 10 USMS 2025 Go The Distance Swimmers:

1. Brian McLaughlin (70) 1,701.42 miles or 2,738.16 km swum or an average of 7,501 meters per day
2. Melodee Liegl (@melodeeliegl, 58) 1,654.40 miles or 1,662.49 km swum or an average of 7,294 meters per day [shown above]
3. Sharyl Griffith (64) 1,532.13 miles or 2,465.71 km swum or an average of 6,755 meters per day
4. Andy Seretan (71) 1,503.51 miles or 2,419.65 km swum or an average of 6,629 meters per day
5. Eve Maidenberg (49) 1,307.88 miles or 2,104.82 km swum or an average of 5,766 meters per day
6. Thomas Schwartz (65) 1,238.35 miles or 1,992.92 km swum or an average of 5,460 meters per day
7. Jim Callahan (68) 1,172.40 miles or 1,886.79 km swum or an average of 5,169 meters per day
8. Michael Carew (76) 1,116.48 miles or 1,796.79 km swum or an average of 4,922 meters per day
9. Steffan Sarkin (65) 1,032.56 miles or 1,661.74 km swum or an average of 4,562 meters per day
10. Eric Mulkey (70) 1,016.48 miles or 1,635.86 km swum or an average of 4,481 meters per day

Top USMS 2024 Go The Distance Swimmers:

1. Brian McLaughlin (69) 2,401.74 miles or 3,865.22 km swum or an average of 10,618 meters per day
2. Melodee Liegl (@melodeeliegl, 57) 1,780.41 miles or 2,865.29 km swum or an average of 7,871 meters per day [shown below]
3. Sharyl Griffith (63) 1,527.17 miles or 2,457.74 km swum or an average of 6,752 meters per day
4. Andy Seretan (71) 1,503.51 miles or 2,419.66 km swum or an average of 6,647 meters per day [shown below]
5. Ed Mosher (78) 1,422.68 miles or 2,289.58 km swum or an average of 6,290 meters per day
6. Vesna Shelnutt (39) 1,274.77 miles or 2,051.54 km swum or an average of 5,636 meters per day
7. Thomas Schwartz (64) 1,235.81 miles or 1,988.84 km swum or an average of 5,463 meters per day
8. Eve Maidenberg (48) 1,182.13 miles or 1,902.45 km swum or an average of 5,226 meters per day
9. Kenneth Sweigart (73) 1,042.49 miles or 1,677.72 km swum or an average of 4,609 meters per day

Top USMS 2023 Go The Distance Swimmers:

1. Anton Janezich (31) 2,594.06 miles or 4,174.73 km swum or an average of 11,437 meters per day
2. Melodee Liegl (56) 1,863.14 miles or 2,998.43 km swum or an average of 8,214 meters per day [shown below]
3. Brian McLaughlin (68) 1,825.73 miles or 2,938.22 km swum or an average of 8,049 meters per day
4. Andy Seretan (69) 1,476.28 miles or 2,375.84 km swum or an average of 6,509 meters per day [shown below]
5. Sharyl Griffith (61) 1,389.85 miles or 2,229 km swum or an average of 6,107 meters per day
6. Thomas Schwartz (63) 1,272.17 miles or 2,036 km swum or an average of 5,580 meters per day
7. Eve Maidenberg (47) 1,210.38 miles or 1,938 km swum or an average of 5,311 meters per day
8. Jim Wetzel (66) 1,160.73 miles or 1,862 km swum or an average of 5,103 meters per day
9. Robert Olson (63) 1,103.95 miles or 1,762 swum or an average of 4,829 meters per day

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

© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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