“She started in darkness and she finished in darkness,” described Forrest Nelson of Tina Neill‘s unprecedented 52-mile (83.6 km) solo swim from San Clemente Island to the California mainland. “Rarely will you find a person so energized to be in the water.”

Without a doubt, Neill channeled her abundance of mental and physical energy to complete the unprecedented 83.6 km crossing in 28 hours 41 minutes.

For her record-setting accomplishment, Tina Neill’s swim is nominated for the 2012 WOWSA Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year. Her nomination reads,

Look at Tina Neill and nothing hints at records. Talk to Tina Neill and nothing she says hints of greatness. But the introverted, humble explorer of the raw potential of the human spirit has been making waves in the open water throughout her career. Neill proved once again how uniquely special she is with her unprecedented 28-hour crossing of the 52-mile San Clemente Channel. Like her record-setting backstroke channel swims in England and Catalina, she figuratively heads into her phone booth like a mild-mannered Clark Kent and bounds out like Superman. Watch Neill attack a channel and witness her super powers of strength, stamina and speed. For her quiet nature despite swims that scream volumes, for always remaining under the radar despite record-setting exploits, for the pure genius of her aquatic talents, Tina Neill’s San Clemente Swim is a worthy nominee for the 2012 WOWSA Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year.

The nominees will be posted on November 1st at www.worldopenwaterswimmingassociation.com. Voting will take place between November 1st and December 31st.

Copyright © 2012 by Open Water Source