There are 335 people who have completed the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming (English Channel + Catalina Channel + 20 Bridges Swim around Manhattan Island) – including the most recent swimmers 16-year-old Maya Merhige from Berkeley, California and Jordan Iverson from Alaska.
Not coincidentally, 27 of these Triple Crowners attended a dinner to recognize their accomplishments at the end of Cork Distance Week on July 12th in Cork, Ireland.
Why would they gather at a 9-day hard-core, cold water training camp to swim many kilometers – including a 6-hour channel qualifying swim in 12°C water – while enduring fog, waves, currents, tides, swells, jellyfish, and rain? Why do they have a continuing desire to maintain their hardened exterior and steely mental core?
Because this is their community. They want to give back and want to give more. They mentor younger and newcomers to the sport. They participate as support crew members, coaches, training swim buddies, or pace swimmers. They want to continue exploring how far, how fast, how cold, and how extreme they can push themselves around various open bodies of water around the world.
First row (left to right):
Middle row (left to right):
- Gina Harden
- Liz Fry
- Courtney Moates Paulk
- Martha Wood
- Susan McKay
- Laura Lopez Bonilla
- Carol Wortman
- Matthias Kaßner
Top row (left to right):
- Helen Beveridge
- Stephanie Hopson
- Rosie Foley
- Heather Roka
- Kerry Yonushonis
- Ned Denison
- Bill Shipp
- Fionnuala Walsh
- Jenny Smith
- Simon Olliver
- Steve Sutton
© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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