Growing up near the finish of the 32 km Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean in Roberval, Québec, Canada and later serving as the host of the famed professional marathon swim for 25 years, there is no one better suited to writing and bringing alive the history of the Traversée and its multi-national cast of characters than Jean-Pierre Girard.
The 67-year-old journalist and Radio-Canada host for over 30 years has always been passionate about swimming, participating in the amateur open water swimming events in the Traversée every year. On July 18th, he released his French-language book, Les folles histoires de la traversée du Lac St-Jean on the 70th anniversary of the event.
Girard summarizes his 276-page book, “Since 1955, Roberval has been the finish site of the most prestigious marathon swims in the world: the Traversée internationale du lac Saint-Jean. Every year, on the last Saturday in July, thousands of people gather on the banks to attend this grandiose sporting event. The challenge is swimming for long hours to cross the 32 km that separate Péribonka from Roberval, fighting against cold water, wind and waves, overcoming pain and doubts, persevering until the triumphant welcome. The goal is to raise awareness of the athletes who stood out at the end. Discover the larger-than-life figures of the Egyptian Abdel Latif Abou Heif, the Bulgarian Petar Stoychev, the Québécois Régent Lacoursière, Christine Cossette, Xavier Desharnais, and Rémi Meunier who managed to conquer the lake at the age of 15. S tories of triumphs and failures, sacrifices and perseverance: true sources of inspiration for all.”
Table of Contents
- Preface by Denis Lévesque
- Première Partie – La passion de la Traversée
- Régent Lacoursière, la loutre du Pekuakami
- Herman Willemse, le Hollandais volant
- Abdel Latif Abou Heif, le crocodile du Nil
- Claudio Plit, le roi du Pekuakami
- Christine Cossette, celle qui a doublé le défi
- Petar Stoychev, l’invincible nageur bulgare [shown on cover in one of his 11 victorious crossings]
- Mes années en tant qu’animateur de la Traversée
- Des moments clés dans la rade
- Roberval 2010: un lac global pour un rendez-vous mondial
- Deuxième Partie – Les nageurs robervalois à la conquête du leur lac
- Patrick Gagnon, le premier à relever le défi
- Gilles Potvin, à quelques mètres du but
- Lucien Dufour tente sa chance
- Rémi Meunier, quand le flo se transforme en héros
- Jean-François Bergeron, i’ultramarathonien
- Philippe Chouinard-Rousseau, l’étoile filante
- Sébastien Bolduc, vainqueur du temps limite
- Marc-André Girard, la comète
- Marc-André Leclerc, le modèle des nageurs
- Ronnica Christie, la première Robervaloise
- Joanie Guillemette-Simard, la plus grande nageuse de la capitale de la nage en eau libre
- Jérémie Bonneau, la Traversée tatouée sur le cœur
- Gabrielle Trottier et Pierre Pelletier, les amoureux du lac
- Sabryna Lavoie, un parcours étincelant
- Dania Belisle, à sa manière unique
- Alexann Petiquay, au nom des Pekuakamiulnuatsh
For more information about the book, visit here.
For more information about the Traversée, visit traversee.qc.ca where the following 25 swimmers will compete for a total cash prize of US$55,000 on July 27th.
- Aquiles Balaudo, Argentina
- Franco Ivo Cassini, Argentina
- Matias Diaz Hernandez, Argentina
- Rita Vanesa Garcia, Argentina
- Mayte Puca, Argentina
- Erika Yenssen, Argentina
- Madisyn Armstrong, Australia
- Andrea de la Hera Martin, Spain
- Inès Delacroix, France
- Clémence François,France
- Julien Pichot, France
- Axel Reymond, France
- Matteo Furlan, Italy
- Marco Inglima, Italy
- Elena Lionello, Italy
- Alessio Occhipinti, Italy
- Mario Sanzullo, Italy
- Aleksandar Ilievski, Macedonia
- Evgenij Pop Acev, Macedonia
- Daniel Delgadillo, Mexico
- Hugo Ribeiro, Portugal
- Pénélope Harvey, Canada
- Philippe Lacasse, Canada
- Marie-Laurence Lortie, Canada
- William Racine, Canada
© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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