Joe Zemaitis (45, USA, MSF bio here, IISA bio here) is an adventurer and extreme sports athlete at his core, despite his multiple of professional responsbilities and roles. From competing in stage swims at the SCAR Swim Challenge in the desert of Arizona to doing 10 km swims in all 50 American states in 25 days to leading the American team at the IISA 6th World Championship in Molveno, Italy, Zemaitis keeps pushing himself.

He most recently won the 4-day Mount Saint Helens Classic, the brainchild of Eric Durban who was inspired by vision of Kent Nicholas who created the 4-day SCAR Swim Challenge,  The inaugural event was held near Mount St. Helens, an active volcano in the state of Washington’s Cascade Rane that most recently erupted in May 1980, that remains the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in American history. Since 1980, Mount St Helens has continued to erupt intermittently.

An Instant Classic

The Mount Saint Helens Classic is a 4-day 4-lake 61.37 km (38.2-mile) stage swim held in Mayfield Lake, Riffe Lake, Lake Merwin, and Yale Lake that surround the Mount St Helens Volcanic Monument within the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in the state of Washington.

The inaugural Classic was held between September 6th and 9th with 27 swimmers who came from eight American states and as far away as Ireland.  

The Classic started Thursday with a 7.2-mile (11.58 km) swim in Mayfield Lake.  Riffe Lake was up second with a 13-mile (20.9 km) swim, the longest of the four stages.  Day three featured Merwin Lake at 10.5 miles (16.89 km) and a scenic finish beneath Yale Bridge.  Yale Like was the final stage with a 7.5-mile (12.0 km) swim wrapping up the challenge.  Swimmers are free to register for a single crossing or can attempt all four stages as 12 swimmers did in the first year.

Without hesitation, Zemaitis, an International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Swimmer, entered himself as a 4-stager.

Brother John Zemaitis (42, USA, MSF bio here, IISA bio here) reported, “The unpredictable Washington weather cooperated just enough to give great conditions with mostly overcast skies and calm winds for the majority of the competition.  The water temperatures ranged from 66°F in Mayfield Lake to a balmy 72°F in both Merwin Lake and Yale Lake.  

Joe led the field overall with wins in all four lakes and a total time of 17 hours 7 minutes.  Taylor Stallings-Pinnick (38, USA, MSF bio here) was the top female each day and finished second overall with a cumulative time of 18 hours 7 minutes.”  

Veteran stage swim organizer Dr. Steve Mingalia of Hawaii (52, USA, MSF bio here) said, “This is an incredibly well run event filled with great people and excellent logistics and awesome swam.  Great backdrops, clever games, and camaraderie in the water.  I sincerely hope this event grows and becomes a hot spot for us all to meet up once a year and compete.” 

Heather Fairbanks of Virginia (56, USA, MSF bio here) praised the organization, “Thank you to Eric and the whole team.  It was an honor to join you for these fantastic swims.  Thank you for for all the hard work, enthusiasm, vision, and bravery to put it all together.  Hold on tight, I think this event will be on everyone’s bucket list.”

SCAR Swim veteran Stefan Reinke of Hawaii (66, USA, MSF bio here) said, “It was a great event filled with good swimming and excellent people.  I hope this becomes a cornerstone series for the open water swimming community.”

The Zemaitis Brothers – who last month became the first people to achieve the Stillwater 8 – both agreed, “Eric put together an incredible team of volunteers who went above and beyond every day to create an awesome experience for all the swimmers.  It can take years to put together a seamless event, but Eric and his team hit a home run on their first try.  It was four fantastic days of swimming and an event we can’t recommend highly enough.”

Day 1 on Mayfield Lake

he first day of the Mount St Helens Classic stage swim race began with a bang. Thunder and lightning woke up many swimmers about 2:30 am on the morning of the race. It forced a one-hour delay in the start. Swimmers finally got started at 8:18 am. A rain squall hit about an hour into the race, but soon calm returned. Joe Zemaitis was first to the finish, with Taylor Stalling-Pinnick not far behind in second.

1. Joseph Zemaitis, 45, 2:58:40.3
2. Taylor Stallings-Pinnick, 38, 3:11:29.1
3. Steven Minaglia, 52, 3:12:20.9
4. Stefan Reinke, 67, 3:13:05.2
5. John Zemaitis, 42, 3:22:51.3
6. Thomas Grandine, 66, 3:27:09.0
7. Eric Kinney, 56, 3:28:59.2
8. Katarina English, 37, 3:29:00.9
9. Melodee Liegl, 58, 3:33:15.9
10. Sue Phillips, 48, 3:47:40.0
11. Amy Frick, 59, 3:49:24.0
12. Heather Fairbanks, 56, 3:50:18.0
13. Brianna Jackson, 41, 3:55:24.0
14. Diana Hermanson, 60, 4:11:42.9
15. Rachel Croghan, 40, 4:15:49.4
16. Karen Rasmussen, 50, 4:22:59.2
17. Casey Schwenk, 33, 4:43:12.3

Day 2 on Riffe Lake – Results

An overcast start to the day did not discourage the two waves of swimmers as they started the race from the end of the Mossyrock Park boat ramp. Under draught conditions, the lake level was down to 720 feet above sea level, 20 feet lower than last year’s trial swim. The wind was gusty at first, but later grew steady, pushing swimmers down 13 miles of Rifle Lake. The sun came out as Joe Zemaitis took first for the second day in a row and Taylor Stalling-Pinnick matched her second from the prior day in Mayfield Lake.

1. Joseph Zemaitis, 45, 5:37:49.9
2. Taylor Stallings-Pinnick, 38, 5:49:20.3
3. Stefan Reinke, 67, 6:04:28.8
4. John Zemaitis, 42, 6:04:59.7
5. Thomas Grandine, 66, 6:07:38.0
6. Zena Courtney, 66, 6:07:56.7
7. Eric Kinney, 56, 6:23:07.1
8. Melodee Liegl, 58, 6:31:16.2
9. Steven Minaglia, 52, 6:33:42.9
10. Heather Fairbanks, 56, 7:01:22.2
10. Amy Frick, 59, 7:01:22.2
12. Brianna Jackson, 41, 7:11:42.5
13. Amy Heape, 42, 7:23:45.1
14. Brian Hannan, 37, 7:46:54.2
15. Rachel Croghan, 40, 8:07:27.2
16. Jennifer Mercede, 46, 9:37:58.1
17. Casey Schwenk, 33, DNF

Day 3 on Lake Merwin – Results

Two grey and occasionally drizzling rainy days cleared by the start of the 10.5-mile stage swim on Lake Merwin. After completing the longest stage of the series, racers got a break with sunshine and no wind.. Joe Zemaitis again finished first with Taylor Stalling-Pinnick not too far behind, leading the women’s field. All swimmers who started finished the race before the race cutoff of 7.5 hours.

1. Joseph Zemaitis, 45, 4:54:58.5
2. Taylor Stallings-Pinnick, 38, 5:18:01.4
3. Eric Kearney, 61, 5:22:52.1
4. John Zemaitis, 42, 5:23:16.3
5. Steven Minaglia, 52, 5:24:55.5
6. Melodee Liegl, 58, 5:29:23.4
7. Stefan Reinke, 67, 5:32:52.0
8. Eric Kinney, 56, 5:36:33.2
9. Katarina English, 37, 5:36:35.6
10. Blaire Bradley, 40, 5:48:12.6
11. Heather Fairbanks, 56, 6:13:54.9
12. Amy Frick, 59, 6:16:08.9
13. Brianna Jackson, 41, 6:19:00.2
14. Wendy Van De Sompele, 59, 6:24:36.1
15. Jannine Houston, 52, 6:41:30.5
16. Rachel Croghan, 40, 7:19:53.1
17. Casey Schwenk, 33, 7:29:49.5

Day 4 on Yale Lake – Results

On Yale Lake on Day 4, an overcast sky at the start turned into sunshine a couple hours into the race. It was sunny enough so the swimmers and kayakers got to see Mount St Helens appear from the cloud as they swam up the back stretch of the rectangular course. Conditions until the final 1+ miles were flat and calm. Then the wind started, and put the swimmers completing their final mile of the 7.5 miles (for one lake) or 38 miles (for 4 lakes) to the test.

Joe Zemaitis handily finished in first, while his brother John came in second, and Taylor Stalling-Pinnick rounded out the top three.

1. Joseph Zemaitis, 45, 3:36:01.0
2. John Zemaitis, 42, 3:46:20.3
3. Taylor Stallings-Pinnick, 38, 3:49:45.2
4. Stefan Reinke, 67, 3:51:12.8
5. Thomas Grandine, 66, 3:55:39.2
6. Steven Minaglia, 52, 4:01:34.3
7. Melodee Liegl, 58, 4:09:22.8
8. Eric Kinney, 56, 4:20:25.0
9. Amy Frick, 59, 4:31:49.5
10. Heather Fairbanks, 56, 4:35:13.5
11. Brian Hannan, 37, 4:41:47.2
12. Brianna Jackson, 41, 4:41:59.8
13. Gail Stribling Geldien, 44, 4:46:41.4
14. Jenny Jasper, 39, 5:02:25.7
15. Rachel Croghan, 40, 5:42:31.4
16. Casey Schwenk, 33, 5:53:28.4
17. Jennifer Mercede, 46, DNF

© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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

World Open Water Swimming Federation, a human-powered project.