When I was younger and an older athlete’s name was mentioned, I remember the adults making comments like, “you don’t know him/her! s/he was the first to do…” Usually, those athletes were either long gone or done with their careers; which is what makes us so lucky now. Open water swimmers like Lynne Cox and Alison Streeter are not only still around but very much involved in the sport. These were the women who were the firsts. Alison has crossed the English Channel 43 times, more than anyone else in the world. She set the female record for a Channel swim from France to England (8 hours 48 minutes), in 1988. She was the first (and so far only) woman to swim the Channel three ways non-stop in 1990, taking 34h 40 min for the feat. These are only some of her accomplishments. I have never met Alison but I have met Lynne Cox and can vouch for her character as a public figure and role model. How lucky we are to have greatness among us and greatness that is willing to share her stories, get intimate enough to ask you yours and give crucial and thoughtful advice. Lynne was the youngest (age 15) to cross the English channel twice setting the record for fasting crossing for men or women. She was the first woman to swim the Cook Strait in New Zealand, the first person to swim across the Strait of Magellan in Chile, the Beagle Channel between Argentina and Chile, Lake Baikal in Russia and around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. In 1987 Cox crossed the Bering Strait from Alaska to the Soviet Union and in 2002 swam more than a mile in 31-degree Fahrenheit waters off Antarctica (buy her book – swimming to Antarctica). She has written a book Open water swimming manual – an expert’s survival guide for triathletes and open water swimmers. This book tells you everything you need to know about open water swimming. Even if you are not an open water swimmer, the information she gives in the book is also a guide of open water in general covering topics such as dangerous marine organisms, surf, body surfing, role of the tides…and the list goes on and on. I encourage everyone to pick up this book…it could really assist you one day if you find yourself in a scary situation in the ocean. I also encourage you to read more about Lynne Cox and her accomplishments. Her story will amaze and inspire you and you wonder why you haven’t read about her sooner and happy you now know a person like her exists.
