Outside the Olympic swimming pool in Paris where his former swimmer, Keaton Jones, was so close (by 0.5 seconds) to standing on the Olympic podium in the 200m backstroke, American Joe Zemaitis meet Bulgarian professional marathon swimming legend and fellow ice swimmer Petar Stoychev who is working at the pool as an Olympic official.

Both men were – and are – legendary for their marathon swimming exploits.

It was a great opportunity to hear both the amateur (Zemaitis) and professional (Stoychev) share stories and experiences about their marathon swims and channel crossings. They are both Barraesque in their own way. Stoychev has completed hundreds of professional marathon swims and is on his way to complete the Oceans Seven within six months, if everything goes to plan. Zemaitis finished his 2022 season at an mind-boggling 807.7 km as he officially documented 250 hours 30 minutes 51 seconds in the water (excluding his training distance and hours).

Zemaitis explains, “2022 was an amazing year, starting with the Au I Na Mokupuni ‘Ekolu in Hawaii.  It was the third time for the three-channels-in-three-days challenge, but it never gets old.  Next up was the Double SCAR in April and another 35+ hours of swimming.  After last year, I thought the Double SCAR would be a one-and-done for me, but with the Ultimate Swim-a-Thon planned, I wanted to test my training and see how I could power through the 75-ish miles in 4 days.  

During the Ultimate Swim-a-Thon, my brother and I swam 520 km over 25 days, swimming stroke-for-stroke in an adventure that was everything I hoped it would be.  9,000+ miles in the air, 11,000+ miles in the RV, US$12,000 raised for the USA Swimming Foundation, and a road trip across the country that still didn’t seem quite real.

John and I saw the world through a pair of goggles in 60 marathon swims.“

Swims by Joe Zemaitis in 2022

1. February 21st: Kalohi Channel, 15 km in Hawaii in 5 hours 47 minutes
2. February 22nd: Pailolo Channel, 13.7 km in Hawaii in 6 hours 22 minutes
3. February 23rd: Auau Channel, 14.2 km in Hawaii in 8 hours 48 minutes
4. April 27th: Double Saguaro, 26.6 km in Arizona in 7 hours 26 minutes 50 seconds
5. April 28th: Double Canyon, 28.2 km in Arizona in 7 hours 43 minutes 19 seconds
6. April 29th: Double Apache, 45.6 km in Arizona in 13 hours 52 minutes 37 seconds
7. April 30th: Double Roosevelt, 20 km in Arizona in 6 hours 25 minutes 58 seconds
8. July 20th: Pacific Ocean, 10.18 km in Hawaii in 3 hours 38 minutes 52 seconds
9. July 21st: Big Lake, 10.33 km in Alaska in 3 hours 16 minutes
10. July 22nd: Lake Tahoe, 10.41 km in Nevada in 3 hours 29 minutes 19 seconds
11. July 22nd: Lake Tahoe, 10.06 km in California in 3 hours 50 minutes 24 seconds
12. July 23rd: Portland Bridge Swim, 17 km in Oregon in 5 hours 6 minutes 15 seconds
13. July 23rd: Yale Lake, 10.32 km in Washington in 3 hours 5 minutes 55 seconds
14. July 24th: Coeur d’Alene Lake, 10 km in Idaho in 3 hours 18 minutes 51 seconds
15. July 24th: Flathead Lake, 11.25 km in Montana in 3 hours 47 minutes 45 seconds
16. July 25th: Lake DeSmet, 10.38 km in Wyoming in 3 hours 31 minutes 5 seconds
17. July 25th: Belle Fourche Reservoir, 10.21 km in South Dakota in 3 hours 3 minutes 3 seconds
18. July 26th: Lake Ashtabula, 10.35 km in North Dakota in 3 hours 14 minutes 20 seconds
19. July 27th: Lake Minnewaska, 10.08 km in Minnesota in 3 hours 14 minutes 36 seconds
20. July 27th: Spirit Lake, 10.05 km in Iowa in 3 hours 10 minutes 58 seconds
21. July 28th: Lake Michigan, 10.22 km in Wisconsin in 3 hours 14 minutes 43 seconds
22. July 28th: Lake Michigan, 10.35 km in Indiana in 3 hours 20 minutes 35 seconds
23. July 29th: Lake Michigan, 10.37 km in Michigan in 3 hours 22 minutes 42 seconds
24. July 30th: Lake Erie, 10.06 km in Ohio in 3 hours 18 minutes 59 seconds
25. July 30th: Lake Erie, 10.24 km in Pennsylvania in 3 hours 50 minutes 51 seconds
26. July 31st: Lake Champlain, 10.24 km in New York in 2 hours 55 minutes 9 seconds
27. July 31st: Lake Champlain, 10.31 km in Vermont in 2 hours 59 minutes 13 seconds
28. August 1st: Lake Winnipesaukee, 10.13 km in New Hampshire in 3 hours 13 minutes 14 seconds
29. August 1st: Lake Seabago, 10.08 km in Maine in 4 hours 14 minutes 14 seconds
30. August 2nd: Narragansett Bay, 10.16 km in Rhode Island in 3 hours 0 minutes 12 seconds
31. August 2nd: Buzzards Bay, 10.04 km in Massachusetts in 3 hours 12 minutes 47 seconds
32. August 2nd: Candlewood Lake, 10.64 km in Connecticut in 3 hours 20 minutes 12 seconds
33. August 3rd: Barnegat Bay, 10.06 km in New Jersey in 3 hours 18 minutes 58 seconds
34. August 3rd: Rehoboth Bay, 10.18 km in Delaware in 3 hours 14 minutes 22 seconds
35. August 4th: Deep Creek Lake, 10.29 km in Maryland in 3 hours 5 minutes 32 seconds
36. August 4th: Summersville Lake, 10.46 in West Virginia in 3 hours 28 minutes 17 seconds
37. August 5th: Lake Wylie, 10.39 km in South Carolina in 3 hours 2 minutes 0 seconds
38. August 5th: Lake Norman, 10.43 km in North Carolina in 3 hours 13 minutes 49 seconds
39. August 6th: South Holston Lake, 10.22 km in Virginia in 3 hours 1 minute 35 seconds
40. August 6th: South Holston Lake, 10.64 km in Tennessee in 2 hours 57 minutes 51 seconds
41. August 6th: Laurel River Lake, 10.74 km in Kentucky in 3 hours 17 minutes 33 seconds
42. August 7th: Lake Burton, 10.11 km in Georgia in 3 hours 8 minutes 0 seconds
43. August 7th: Lake Guntersville, 10.29 km in Alabama in 3 hours 9 minutes 54 seconds
44. August 8th: Choctawhatchee Bay, 10.6 km in Florida in 3 hours 8 minutes 59 seconds
45. August 8th: Bay St. Louis, 10.56 in Mississippi in 2 hours 50 minutes 46 seconds
46. August 9th: South Toledo Bend Reservoir, 10.35 km in Louisiana in 3 hours 39 minutes 57 seconds
47. August 9th: South Toledo Bend Reservoir. 10.16 km in Texas in 3 hours 9 minutes 28 seconds
48. August 9th: Broken Bow Lake, 10.05 km in Oklahoma in 2 hours 55 minutes 48 seconds
49. August 10th: Beaver Lake, 10.26 km in Arkansas in 2 hours 54 minutes 16 seconds
50. August 10th: Table Rock Lane, 10.58 km in Missouri in 3 hours 18 minutes 46 seconds
51. August 11th: Wilson Lake, 10.09 km in Kansas in 3 hours 7 minutes 14 seconds
52. August 11th: Harlan County Lake, 10.11 km in Nebraska in 2 hours 54 minutes 11 seconds
53. August 12th: Navajo Lake, 10.19 km in New Mexico in 3 hours 5 minutes 32 seconds
54. August 12th: McPhee Reservoir, 10.22 km in Colorado in 2 hours 51 minutes 12 seconds
55. August 13th: Lake Powell, 10.13 km in Colorado in 3 hours 2 minutes 4 seconds
56. August 13th: Lake Powell, 10.37 km in Arizona in 3 hours 2 minutes 4 seconds
57. September 8th: Ederle-Burke Swim, 28.1 km in New York in 4 hours 39 minutes 31 seconds
58. September 11th: Reserve 20 Bridges Swim, 45.9 km in New York in 10 hours 44 minutes 52 seconds (course record)
59. October 13th: DC Marathon Swim, 33 km in Washington D.C. in 9 hours 24 minutes 31 seconds
60. November 1st: Lake Pleasant Loop Course, 16.4 km in Arizona in 4 hours 59 minutes 31 seconds

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