Ned Denison, chairperson of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, announced Courtney Moates Paulk as an Honor Swimmer in the IMSHOF Class of 2024.

Steven Munatones explains, “The IMSHOF recognizes not only the world’s most successful swimmers in competitive races, but also individuals for their solo swim exploits around the world. Inductees are renowned for accomplishing one or more of the following:

• setting records
• winning championships
• pioneering unprecedented swims
• swimming extremely long distances

Courtney falls in the latter category which she does extraordinarily well in any type of weather, water, temperature, or conditions…and for any distance or duration.“

Denison describes Courtney’s most significant marathon swimming achievements, “She was the first to complete two-way swims of each of the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming venues: a two-way English Channel crossing in , a two-way Catalina Channel crossing in , and a double circumnavigation swim around Manhattan Island. Her three swims combined for a total time in the water of 81 hours and 5 minutes.

In addition, she was the first to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming a total of four times. Along the way, she completed the English Channel 6 times, the Catalina Channel 4 times, and the Manhattan Island circumnavigation swim 4 times. Courtney set the record in 2017 as the oldest female to complete a 2-way Catalina Channel which still stands – at the age of 47 when she swam for 33 hours 13 minutes..

Courtney has completed many other solo marathon swims in addition to the Triple Crown. She has swum the length of Lake Geneva, the DC Marathon Swim, across Cape Cod Bay, the Boston Light swim several times, Ederle Burke, the Infinityman, and many SCAR Swims in Arizona.

Courtney has completed three swims over 24 hours, including two swims over 30 hours including a two-way crossing of the English Channel in 27 hours 36 minutes when she was 51 years. She also pioneered two new swim routes near her home in Virginia, USA; the first was across the Chesapeake Bay and the second was a swim across length of Lake Gaston. 

Courtney received the Gertrude Ederle Award from the Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation for the most meritorious swim by a woman in 2021 for her two-way English Channel crossing.  She previously served as president of Swim Free, the preferred charity of NYC Swim, raising over US$75,000 between 2011 and 2017 in connection with her swims.“

Steven Munatones added, “One thing about Courtney is we always have to create new vernacular in the sport for her accomplishments. She was the first to complete the Double Triple Crown, the first person to complete a Triple Triple, and the first to achieve the Quadruple Triple. And because she is relatively young (at 53), I assume Courtney will continue to be the catalyst for new vocabulary long into her future.

And she does this all while managing a busy law firm, Hirschler Law, as its president.

Her perspective on her career is fascinating as is her attention to detail. It was interesting to see her predict her time around her 2011 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim to be 9 hours … and then come in at in 8 hours 59 minutes and 19 seconds.

Q1. You are out there for so long, how do you eat?

A1. I used a mixture of two sports drinks that provided a combination of electrolytes and a small amount of protein. Ideally, the plan was to drink 8 oz. of this mixture every 30 minutes, and, for the most part we stayed on target. Also, every hour I ate a Chocolate Hammer Gel (tastes kind of like chocolate syrup – yum). The goal was to get 90 mg of carbohydrates an hour to keep my energy levels up and also help combat any effects from the cold water. I also had available bananas, cookies, ginger ale and mouthwash. I probably ate 3-4 small bananas during the swim – but no cookies. Most feedings took about 30 seconds, but a few took a little longer (it is hard to eat a banana and drink 8 oz. in less than 30 seconds)!

Q2. Do you get seasick?

A2. Thankfully, I do not get seasick. But, about 2.5 hours into the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, just after I entered the Harlem River, my stomach was very upset and I lost my feeding in what I can only describe as a power puke which then became fish food. The feed I had just taken came up first (orange) and then the prior feed (red) came up. Nothing like puking in the water in front of a bunch of people you’ve just met. While I have had similar issues in other swims, Matt had never actually seen this in a practice swim or an event – so he became pretty concerned. After I puked, however, I felt miraculously better, ate a gel, rinsed with some mouthwash and off I went. No more stomach issues for the rest of the swim. My guess is that it was a combination of nerves, excitement and rough water coming through Hell Gate. As far as how you actually puke in the water when you can’t hold onto anything and while treading water…I can only describe it as similar to a baby who spits up – it just comes flying out.

Q3. What do you think about while swimming?

A3. Mostly I sing songs to myself. My favorite from years ago is “I am the Walrus.” A few years ago, for some reason, “When Doves Cry” snuck into my psyche. In MIMS, mostly I sang one of the songs included in the video “I Believe.” During my training swims, I found myself singing “100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” – but, that didn’t come into my head during MIMS. I also spent quite a bit of time thinking about my stroke, where I was, what I was looking at, how long I’d been swimming, my pace, what was happening on the kayaks, what was happening on the boat and what normal people were doing at that time. And, a lot of the time, I wasn’t thinking about much of anything – just numb silence.

Q4. How do you swim for that long?

A4. One stroke at a time. I started swimming when I was 3 years old and I swam year round for many, many years. I can only equate it to someone who learns how to play golf when they are very young – it is all in the technique. I am an efficient swimmer. I don’t panic in the open water – in any conditions – and breathing for me is as easy in the water as it is on land. But good technique and comfort only gets you so far. I also train A LOT. Part of that training includes very long swims of 5-6 hours in the pool (which are very difficult) and long open water swims. I suppose it is fair to say I am a slow twitch athlete…I can go for a very long time at the same moderate pace – but, I can’t sprint to save my life.

Q5. Do you ever think about quitting?

A5. Not really. I had one moment in the Harlem River where I thought – “really….I could just get in the boat” – but, that was pretty much it. Thankfully, I didn’t find myself in too many dark places. I attribute that to the many long swims that I did in the pool in the winter (mind numbing) and in the open water this spring which helped me get my mind ready for a nine hour swim. After a while, your mind just gets kind of numb.

Congratulations on a well-deserved honor. And, as always, your bright smile lights up the day, the room, and the beach (shown together with Liz Fry and the Rivard sisters, Vera and Margaret.

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