Race director Kent Nicholas (58, USA, MSF bio here) explained the conditions of the 15th edition of today’s Canyon Lake crossing, “If there was a day to swim Canyon, today was the day. There was a little push at the beginning which was a gift. A small release of water from Horse Mesa dam was basically an apology for the beat down we took at Saguaro yesterday. Wind was not an issue. Many smiles on the water.“
And Chris Cook (45, UK, 45, MSF bio here) came out smiling. He won the second of two races at the 2026 SCAR Swim Challenge, the 4-day stage swim in Arizona. His time of 3 hours 2 minutes was 57 faster over the 14.1 km course than his same swim in 2023. Cook has built a 41-minute lead over marathon swimming veteran Christopher Allshouse (55, USA, MSF bio here) in the cumulative standings.
Meanwhile, the women’s race for the SCAR Buckle is very close. Linda Clarke (51, Ireland, MSF bio here) leads Albie Ashbrook (56, USA) by 6 minutes 33 seconds and Amy Meskill (35, USA, IISA bio here) by 7 minutes 19 seconds, leading up to the 27.3 km crossing of Apache Lake tomorrow.
2026 SCAR Saguaro Lake Results
1. Chris Cook, United Kingdom, 45, 3:02:48.7
2. Riley Quinlan, Arizona, USA, 31, 3:17:52.4
3. Christopher Allshouse, Ohio, USA, 55, 3:22:04.0
4. Stephen Robinson, United Kingdom, USA, 51, 3:23:56.2
5. Jessica Deckard, Colorado, USA, 43, 3:25:45.0
6. Valerie Bates, Tennessee, USA, 24, 3:26:32.8
7. Isabella Johnson, California, USA, 28, 3:26:49.7
8. Linda Clarke, Ireland, USA, 51, 3:29:02.1
9. Leslie Hamilton, New York, USA, 33, 3:32:24.6
10. James McDonald, Massachusetts, USA, 59, 3:35:10.7
11. Rachael Bartel, California, USA, 29, 3:35:48.0
12. Amy Meskill, Connecticut, USA, 35, 3:35:51.8
13. Albie Ashbrook, New Jersey, USA, 56, 3:35:58.9
14. Christopher Calby, Connecticut, USA, 35, 3:37:02.1
15. Bruce James, Alabama, USA, 31, 3:37:42.0
16. Manon Francois, France, USA, 31, 3:38:12.1
17. Martin Henriksen, Washington, USA, 51, 3:39:26.6
18. Cassidy Kelly, Texas, USA, 29, 3:39:42.3
19. Philip Kilmartin, Ireland, USA, 59, 3:40:52.9
20. Edie Hu, Hong Kong, USA, 50, 3:45:43.6
21. Sara Castellano, Colorado, USA, 49, 3:47:41.6
22. Kathy McCarty, Maryland, USA, 64, 3:50:33.4
23. Michelle Saul, Arizona, USA, 38, 3:51:48.3
24. Kathleen Leslie, Maryland, USA, 58, 3:52:02.9
25. Kerston Corns, Arizona, USA, 26, 3:55:19.2
26. Jessi Harewicz, Canada, USA, 43, 4:03:43.8
27. Madi Carioty, Arizona, USA, 30, 4:07:15.0
28. Sophie Ryan, Ireland, USA, 48, 4:11:33.9
29. Tom Minnock, Pennsylvania, USA, 62, 4:20:45.8
30. Marnie Whitley, Arizona, USA, 57, 4:21:08.2
31. Sean Hopper, Arizona, USA, 40, 4:27:59.2
32. Gerald George, Arizona, USA, 67, 4:36:51.5
33. Kiran Williams, Arizona, USA, 17, 4:36:55.5
34. Claire Russell, Colorado, USA, 64, 4:42:00.0
35. Noah Heilbrun, Oregon, USA, 45, 4:48:40.3
36. Mike Healey, Oregon, USA, 73, 5:28:03.2
37. Tom Linthicum, California, USA, 68, 6:38:14.9
DNF Gina Harden, Florida, USA, 66
DNF Mark Spratt, Iowa, USA, 70
DNF Gabriella Rishel, Colorado, USA, 56
For more information, visit www.scarswim.com.
© 2026 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
New Open Water Swimming Educational and Motivational Course – register here