CALL FOR NOMINATIONS - 2015 Solo Swim of the Year
It's that time again! We're pleased to announce the Fourth 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, by commenting on this thread. To submit a private nomination, please contact us.
This award is intended to honor the single most outstanding marathon swim in 2015 -- one by a female, and one by a male.
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 (winners indicated in bold):
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.
2014 - female
- Chloё McCardel
- Charlotte Samuels
- Susan Simmons
2014 - male
- Bob Fernald
- Craig Lenning
- Otto Thaning
Comments
Wendy Trehiou
First to complete the mammoth St Malo (France) to Jersey 24 hours and 7 minutes
Jaimie Monahan - Lake Geneva.
Chloë McCardel had another incredible year, but her 63-mile, 36-hour three-way crossing of the English Channel stands out as one of the most outstanding cold water marathons in recent memory. Chloë became the fourth human (first in 25 years), second woman, and first Australian to complete the nearly-unfathomable EC Triple. The others were Jon Erikson, Phil Rush, and Alison Streeter -- rare company indeed.
The swim was sanctioned and observed by the CSA, and piloted by Reg Brickell.
This, in the context of the three one-way crossings in a single week she completed earlier in the season.
Hats off (again) to Chloë.
We received a private nomination for Marcy MacDonald's Loch Ness swim.
When I look back on the year, there were many amazing solo swims but one swim made me go "wow" at the time. That was Marcy MacDonald's solo of Loch Ness. Marcy took on this swim before Scotland had any sign of summer and completed this swim in water of 10-11C.
I'm nominating Marcy because of her resilience and determination in completing this long swim in such cold freshwater.
Ed. note: This swim was observed and sanctioned by the BLDSA.
Kim Chambers, Farallon Islands. First woman to complete this swim.
No male solos nominated yet, so I'll kick things off by nominating Jason Betley's two-way Catalina Channel swim, which was:
The swim was sanctioned and observed by the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation, and piloted by John Pittman on the Outrider.
You can read more about Jason's swim on his blog:
Surely there are other super impressive solo swims out there from this year. I don't keep as close an eye on all swims everywhere throughout the year, and I enjoy this space during the off-season as a way of catching up on and celebrating what I missed.
For the records, this is the ONLY "year in review" that I actually enjoy (get out of here, Facebook).
I don't wear a wetsuit; it gives the ocean a sporting chance.
We had a private nomination for Peter Hayden's 29+ mile swim "lollipop" swim waaaaay offshore among the California Channel Islands. Peter swam a 5-mile circumnavigation of Santa Barbara Island, followed without stopping by a 24-mile crossing from SB Island to the west end of Catalina Island. The circumnavigation had been done only once previously, a couple weeks before Peter; the SBI-Catalina crossing was unprecedented; and the combination was obviously also unprecedented.
His nominator adds:
Peter's swim was observed and sanctioned by the SBCSA. Observer @Lynnkub made this video:
I nominate Bill Shipp's Catalina Channel crossing (11:47:26 on Sept. 22, 2015). He had truly lousy conditions (one crew and one observer lost their lunch several times in the big swell) and we lost a 2.5-gallon container of water over the side at one point when the pitching and heaving got really violent.
Although the observer reported that it was "an uneventful swim," she's understating it immensely. It was an incredibly hard swim and I know Shipp did not feel well during it; he had a lot of issues with seasickness, his stomach, and everything hurt. But it was remarkable to watch him keep digging into layer after layer of strength to get there. Once the sun came up, it got even windier, and I could hear him breathing with resolve. He would finish--there was no alternative.
This swim was the third of his Triple Crown. He's 55 and did all three swims over the age of 50. He's also a cancer survivor. It was pretty damn inspiring watching him catch that roadrunner and grill it for lunch.
Stop me if you've heard this one...
A grasshopper walks into a bar...
https://elainekhowley.com/