The Yukon River Swim by Ross Edgley was an unusual adventure, a swim of extreme proportions in an unforgiving land.
In the far reaches of the Yukon Territory, life is neither easy, convenient, nor simple. This is a wild, lurking with dangers and risks at nearly every turn in a mountainous and sparsely populated part of western Canada. Animals not normally seen by open water swimmers, from caribou to bears, abound along the Yukon River.
The Yukon River is where the 38-year-old Edgley completed his 510 km non-stop assisted marathon swim between June 16th and 18th where he was in the water for 54 hours 45 minutes.
His story is shown above with expedition leader Ger Kennedy, World Open Water Swimming Federation observer and escort kayaker Chris Morgan, observer Thomas W. Kofler, Canadian escort boat captains Larry Bonnett, Brian Earl, Liam Parfitt, and Stan Fordyce, physician Dr Tom Hall, cameraman James Perrett, and support crew members Scott Edgley, Hester Sobery, Stephen O’Brien, Eric Bonnett, John Robertson, and Raymond Kmyta.
The World Open Water Swimming Federation defined the Yukon River Swim as an assisted, escorted, non-stop marathon swim due to use of performance-enhancing, non-standard equipment (i.e., wetsuit, neoprene hoodie, neoprene gloves, and neoprene booties) that benefitted his speed, aided in his buoyancy, and increased his heat retention throughout the swim. The performance-enhancing non-standard equipment was necessary for safety purposes – but the elements still took a toll on his body.
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