Marcia Cleveland Hits A Grand Slam

Courtesy of Ron Collins, Tampa Bay, Florida.

Author, coach, administrator and long-time swimmer Marcia Cleveland completed the fastest cumulative time for the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming in 24 hours 38 minutes 3 seconds (that includes a 9 hour 44 minute crossing of the English Channel, an 8 hour 56 minute 10 second crossing of the Catalina Channel, and a 5 hour 57 minute 53 circumnavigation of Manhattan Island).

With her December 31st 2018 completion of the 38.6 km Tampa Bay Marathon Swim, the 54-year-old from Winnetka, Illinois also set the standard for the fastest Grand Slam of Open Water Swimming.

Ron Collins reports, “Marcia swam the 24-mile length of Tampa Bay on New Year’s Eve, December 31st. She started at 6:15 am and was challenged by a 10-15 mph headwind that generated a moderate chop of 1-2 feet. She reached Pinellas Point quickly and headed north toward the finish line at the north end of Tampa Bay.

Although the conditions improved by mid-day, the tide was less favorable as she maintained a steady pace to reach the finish line at 5:34 pm. Her time of 11 hours 19 minutes was a fast time, especially since this was a solo effort and not a race to the finish line.

Water temperature was 66-68°F / 17-18°C which is considered to be very comfortable by marathon swimmers.”

The complete Grand Slam of Open Water Swimming is here.

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