Courtesy of Ron Collins, Tampa Bay Marathon Swim, Florida.
There are all kinds of bucket swims from the Oceans Seven to the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming (English Channel + Catalina Channel + Manhattan Island Marathon Swim or 20 Bridges Manhattan Swim).
In 2015, Ron Collins, the race director of the Tampa Bay Marathon Swim and a marathon swimmer himself, first coined the term Grand Slam of Open Water Swimming.
The Grand Slam of Open Water Swimming is a solo completion of the 33.8 km English Channel between England and France, the 32.3 km Catalina Channel in California, the 45.8 km Manhattan Island Marathon Swim or the 20 Bridges Manhattan Swim in New York, and 37 km Tampa Bay Marathon Swim in Florida.
The original Grand Slam of Open Water Swimming list has been updated with the addition to two brothers: Dr. Scott Richards (shown above) and Dan Richards (shown below). One from California (Scott) and one from Tennessee (Dan), the brothers often shared their marathon swimming journey as only siblings can do:
1. Kathleen Wilson [shown above]
* June 1999 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim: 7 hours 37 minutes
* August 2001 English Channel: 13 hours 10 minutes
* April 2003 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 12 hours 26 minutes
* August 2004 Catalina Channel: 9 hours 36 minutes at the age of 41
2. David Blanke
* Between 1999 and 2008 Manhattan Island Marathon Swims 7 times including 7 hours 10 minutes
* April 2001 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 11 hours 51 minutes
* August 2001 English Channel: 11 hours 32 minutes
* August 2005 Catalina Channel: 8 hours 56 minutes 10 seconds at the age of 45
3. Forrest Nelson
* Between 2004 and 2013 Catalina Channel 4 times including 10 hours 35 minutes
* April 2005 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 10 hours 21 minutes
* July 2005 English Channel: 10 hours 33 minutes
* June 2007 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim: 9 hours 41 minutes 37 seconds at the age of 41
4. Samantha Simon
* April 2008 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 8 hours 59 minutes
* August 2009 English Channel: 13 hours 11 minutes
* June 2010 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim: 8 hours 10 minutes
* August 2010 Catalina Channel: 9 hours 22 minutes at the age of 20
5. Penny Palfrey
* Between 2006 and 2007 English Channel 2 times including in 9 hours 16 minutes
* June 2007 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim: 8 hours 36 minutes
* April 2008 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 7 hours 51 minutes 24 seconds
* Between 2010 and 2015 Catalina Channel: 10 hours 36 minutes at the age of 48
6. Scott Richards
* June 2006 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim: 8 hours 8 minutes 48 seconds at the age of 46
* September 2006 Catalina Channel: 10 hours 39 minutes 27 minutes
* July 2007 English Channel: 13 hours 20 minutes at the age of 47
* April 2011 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 10 hours 35 minutes at the age of 51
7. Dan Richards
* April 2008 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 9 hours 11 minutes 12 seconds at the age of 51
* October 2008 Catalina Channel: 14 hours 59 minutes 23 seconds at the age of 52
* July 2010 English Channel: 12 hours 32 minutes at the age of 53
* June 2011 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim: 8 hours 5 minutes 48 seconds at the age of 54
8. Barbara Held
* August 2010 Catalina Channel: 9 hours 36 minutes
* April 2011 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 10 hours 21 minutes
* June 2011 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim 8 hours 12 minutes
* August 2012 English Channel: 12 hours 10 minutes at the age of 58
9. Cindy Walsh
* July 2005 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim: 8 hours 0 minutes
* From 2007 to 2008 Catalina Channel 2 times including 13 hours 56 minutes
* April 2011 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 10 hours 50 minutes
* September 2012 English Channel: 14 hours 19 minutes at the age of 49
10. Ron Collins
* April 1998 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 9 hours 52 minutes
* June 2002 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim: 8 hours 26 minutes
* September 2004 English Channel: 14 hours 7 minutes
* September 2013 Catalina Channel: 10 hours 5 minutes 29 seconds at the age of 51
11. Anthony McCarley
* April 2011 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 11 hours 26 minutes
* August 2013 English Channel: 13 hours 29 minutes
* June 2014 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim: 9 hours 40 minutes
* July 2014 Catalina Channel: 13 hours 3 seconds at the age of 54
12. Bridgette Hobart
* April 2011 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 11 hours 51 minutes
* June 2012 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim: 8 hours 50 minutes
* October 2012 Catalina Channel: 11 hours 27 minutes
* September 2014 English Channel: 13 hours 28 minutes at the age of 51
13. Katie Benoit
* June 2010 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim: 8 hours 44 minutes
* August 2010 Catalina Channel: 10 hours 41 minutes
* July 2012 English Channel: 13 hours 13 minutes
* April 2015 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 12 hours 2 minutes at the age of 36
14. Chris Burke
* April 2013 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 12 hours 16 minutes
* June 2014 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim: 7 hours 43 minutes
* September 2014 Catalina Channel: 11 hours 23 minutes
* July 2015 English Channel: 10 hours 44 minutes at the age of 53
15. Dr. Mark Smitherman
* April 2013 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 12 hours 33 minutes
* June 2014 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim: 8 hours 10 minutes
* September 2014 Catalina Channel: 11 hours 52 minutes
* September 2015 English Channel: 12 hours 32 minutes at the age of 57
16. Marcy MacDonald
* Between 1993 and 2009 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim 5 times including in 7 hours 38 minutes
* Between 1994 and 2014 English Channel 15 times including 10 hours 33 minutes
* June 2013 Catalina Channel: 12 hours 9 minutes
* December 2017 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 9 hours 13 minutes at the age of 54
17. James Loreto
* October 2016 20 Bridges Manhattan Swim: 8 hours 9 minutes
* July 2017 Catalina Channel: 11 hours 48 minutes
* April 2018 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 12 hours 28 minute
* July 2018 English Channel: 14 hours 35 minutes at the age of 45
18. Maureen Montgomery
* October 2016 20 Bridges Manhattan Swim: 8 hours 4 minutes
* September 2017 Catalina Channel: 11 hours 30 minutes
* April 2015 Tampa Bay Marathon Swim: 11 hours 55 minutes at the age of 54
* August 2018 English Channel: 12 hours 30 minutes at the age of 57
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