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CALL FOR NOMINATIONS - 2014 Solo Swim of the Year

evmoevmo Sydneydev
edited March 2015 in Admin Communications
MSF is pleased to announce the Third Annual Global Marathon Swimming Awards, the only peer-nominated, peer-voted awards for the sport of marathon swimming.

Please submit your nominations for Solo Swim of the Year in 2014, by commenting on this thread. To submit a private nomination, send a PM to the Admins ( @evmo and/or @loneswimmer) and we will submit it on your behalf.

This award is intended to honor the single most outstanding marathon swim in 2014 -- one by a female, and one by a male (this nomination thread is for both).

Finalists will be selected on the basis of community support, as measured by "Likes." So, if you agree with a nomination and want to "second" it, click the "Like" button on that nomination.

Nominations will remain open for approximately three weeks.

Previous years' finalists for Solo Swim of the Year are (winners indicated in blue font):

2012 - female
- Annaleise Carr (Canada). Lake Ontario crossing.
- Chloe McCardel (Australia). English Channel two-way.
- Tina Neill (USA). San Clemente Island to California mainland.

2012 - male
- Trent Grimsey (Australia). New English Channel record.
- Craig Lenning (USA). Tsugaru Strait crossing.
- Bill Shipp (USA). Lake Memphremagog crossing.

2013 - female
- Michelle Macy (USA). North Channel record.
- Sarah Thomas (USA). Two-way Lake Memphremagog.
- Wendy Trehiou (Jersey). Two-way English Channel.

2013 - male
- Fergal Somerville (Ireland). Oldest to complete North Channel.
- Ned Denison (Ireland / USA). False Bay crossing.
- Sylvain Estadieu (France). English Channel butterfly.

Last year's Call for Nominations threads are here:
- 2013: female, male
Tagged:

Comments

  • AnthonyMcCarleyAnthonyMcCarley Berwyn, PACharter Member
    edited November 2014
    I nominate Craig Lenning for his amazing April swim from the Farollones to the California mainland. First successful swim in nearly 50 years and the third person ever.
    http://dailynews.openwaterswimming.com/2014/04/15-hours-46-minutes-ends-47-year-hiatus.html?m=1

    http://dailynews.openwaterswimming.com/2014/04/q-with-craig-lenning.html?m=1
    evmoSpacemanspiffgregocGordsdavid_barraFilssthomasMvGMike_GemellisuziedodsiswimlongtimeHappyHelenAhitchings95818AquaRobloneswimmerphodgeszohoSylleJBirrrdjendut
  • AnthonyMcCarleyAnthonyMcCarley Berwyn, PACharter Member
    edited November 2014
    Just to be clear, a fourth person, Joe Locke did the swim after Craig - so Craig was "the third person ever" at the time of his swim. Joe's swim was also amazing. I believe Craig deserves slightly more recognition for the month of year of his swim and for doing it first.

    Additional link of potential interest:
    http://dailynews.openwaterswimming.com/2014/11/mystical-marathon-man-from-mountains.html?m=1
  • pavlicovpavlicov NYC USASenior Member
    edited November 2014
  • dc_in_sfdc_in_sf San FranciscoCharter Member
    While Charlotte Samuels completed the triple crown this year, I'd like to nominate her for her Catalina Channel swim

    20 hour swims are in another league as far as I am concerned and get my respect and admiration.
    evmoFilssthomasphodgeszohocsamuels25[Deleted User]Tracy_Clark

    http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer

  • evmoevmo Sydneydev
    edited November 2014
    For Solo Swim of the Year I nominate Patti Bauernfeind's swim across Monterey Bay. This swim was observed by Oceans Seven swimmer Michelle Macy, and extensive documentation is available here:

    http://marathonswimmers.org/msf/swims/2014/patti-bauernfeind-monterey-bay

    This is a 25-statute mile swim across an iconic and challenging stretch of Northern California water, with a 4,000-ft submarine canyon running down the middle and lots of stinging Cnidarians. The standard route, between downtown Santa Cruz and downtown Monterey, was pioneered in 1980 by Cindy Cleveland.

    (Cindy Cleveland is one of the all-time great marathon swimmers, and was also the first to circumnavigate Catalina Island, and the first to swim the Santa Barbara Channel.)

    Since Cindy's swim, no one had successfully swum unassisted across Monterey Bay. On August 26th of this year, Patti became the second.

    http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/general-news/20140828/patti-bauernfeind-47-becomes-second-to-swim-across-monterey-bay

    This swim was a little off the radar compared to Craig Lenning's and Joe Locke's Farallon Island swims this year, but I think to many NorCal marathon swimmers, Patti's swim was just as historic.

    (Side note: just two weeks later, Kimberly Rutherford became the third!)
    dc_in_sfphodgeszohoJBirrrd
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    edited November 2014
    For Solo Swim of the Year I nominate Otto Thaning's's English Channel Solo. It was Otto's second English Channel and makes him the oldest English Channel soloist at an amazing 73 years old.

    The oldest EC record had been just set by Australian Cyril Baldock just two tides before, after Channel Islander Roger Allsop had held it for the previous few years. Otto had also previously AFAIR held the Fastest Over 50 EC solo record.

    We all dearly hope we continue to swim like Sue, Carol, Roger, Cyril & Otto.
    evmodc_in_sfMvGgregocphodgeszohoSyllecsamuels25JBirrrdAndy[Deleted User]Tracy_Clarkj9swim

    loneswimmer.com

  • ZoeSadlerZoeSadler Charter Member
    edited November 2014
    Admin note: This nomination removed at nominee's request. (No aspersions cast on either Zoe or nominee, thanks to both.) @loneswimmer
    evmoloneswimmerHelbeKellieKatieBundaveyswimsswansswimmer
  • morecircusmorecircus San FranciscoGuest
    edited November 2014
    nominate Joe Locke for his Farallons swim to Golden Gate Bridge the 2nd in History, and first in 50 years. Joe attempted swim multiple times......

    Admin note: Moved to appropriate award category - thanks @gregoc for the suggestion
    evmodavid_barraSylle
  • gregocgregoc Charter Member
    @morecircus, I would second Joe Locke's swim from the Farallons, but it fits better under "male solo swim of the year".
  • emkhowleyemkhowley Boston, MACharter Member
    edited December 2014
    I'd like to sneak in another swim of the year nomination for Bob Fernald of North Hampton, NH.

    Bob is a late onset open water swimmer and pilates instructor. Despite his late entry to swimming, he's wicked fast and a beast when it comes to training. Very focused and driven, despite his laid-back and fun-loving manner.

    He had booked a slot for the English Channel in July 2014, and went about busting out yards all last winter to get ready. We had a lot of fun last April with our 10 X 10,000 yard pool workout challenge, the April Fool's Challenge that Bob set up the Facebook page for. Not content with just 10, Bob busted out 11, 10K workouts in the first 11 days of the month. Which is a good thing, it turned out, because on the 12th day, he fell of his roof and completely shattered his right foot. (He was up there trying to remove a big tree that had come crashing through the living room skylight during a bad windstorm the night before.)

    He was laid up for several weeks before he was able to get in for surgery, where the doctors inserted 5 screws into his Humpty-Dumpty foot in an effort to put it back together again. He hobbled around on crutches with one ugly, purple foot for months, but it didn't stop him from training. As soon as the water got up to about 50 in Rye, NH, he hobbled on crutches to the water's edge every day and then crawled into the surf to swim for as long as he could. I swam with him in early June, and he was still unable to put any weight on the foot, but he had worked out a whole system for maneuvering around on the beach to do what he needed to do. I offered to help him, but he didn't need me; he was just fine training by himself!

    We weren't sure how the swim was going to go, what with him injured and all. But he decided to go for it. The time was right in every other respect, a busted foot be damned. So he swam. And he got to France in just over 10 hours, which if I'm understanding correctly was the fastest solo swim recorded by the CS&PF this year. Not bad for someone who couldn't walk for most of the summer and is still hobbling a bit these days, but thankfully without the crutches.

    So with deep admiration for his incredible determination in the face of foot-long odds, I nominate Bob Fernald for the performance of the year.

    Here's Bob crutching to the water in Rye
    RJ3PMDL8U0PQ.JPG

    And here's his Frankfoot. (Hope this isn't a HIPPA violation!!!)
    WE3SD5VG53TP.png
    evmogregocslknightIronMikemsathleteFilphodgeszoho

    Stop me if you've heard this one...
    A grasshopper walks into a bar...
    https://elainekhowley.com/

  • evmoevmo Sydneydev
    Last call for nominations...
This discussion has been closed.