Swim (MIMS) is now one of the most prestigious long distance swims in the world, with a solo fi eld limited to 40. Past winners have included John van Wisse, Shelley Taylor-Smith (fi ve times), Penny Palfrey and Chloe McCardel. The swim has become part of the marathon swimming ‘Triple Crown’, along with the Catalina and English Channels. But it doesn’t stop there. Manhat anite Morty Berger, a two- time solo MIMS swimmer, took over running the swim in 1993, and thought the unique location could host a greater variety of events – so in 1997 he added a new route along the Hudson River, and two other swims followed the year aſt er. The NYC Swim series has continued to grow, and now comprises nine
events. Highlights include a 1.2km swim around Liberty Island, home of the Statue of Liberty, and a two-miler around Governors’ Island, which was used by New York’s royal governors when it was a British colony. Another swim, called the Lit le Red Lighthouse, is a 10km route along the Hudson River, while a 17.5-mile route from Manhat an to Sandy Hook in New Jersey, fi rst swum by Ederle in 1925, was added in 2006. “They were events that I wanted to do myself,” says Berger. “I thought it would be cool to do these swims.” Evidently, others agree, with an ever-increasing number of competitors taking part in the series, from countries as disparate as Brazil, Venezuela, Japan, Germany and the UK. “There’s something about this city that makes people want to see it,” says Berger, adding that up to one quarter of the city’s web traffi c is from abroad. “The more iconic the location, and the longer the swim, then the more international interest there is,” he says. In last year’s Lit le Red Lighthouse swim, 24 out of 261 starters
were from abroad, and almost half were from outside New York. Another popular event is the Brooklyn Bridge swim – a 1km route under the bridge over the East River between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhat an. From its inception in 2006, the swim featured The Bat le of the Bridge, a race between teams of eight swimmers from each borough – but the increasing number of out-of town swimmers now makes this contest less relevant. Brooklyn team captain Jesse Lansner explains that the swim’s character has evolved since it began: “The Bat le of the Bridge helped to get people excited about the swim fi ve years ago, but nobody needs help to get excited now. The Brooklyn Bridge Swim has gone from being a novel – even scary – idea to being one of the most popular open water swims in the city.” Although the format will change this year a healthy spirit of local
rivalry remains, says Christopher Stephens, Manhat an team captain. “We always had more applicants for Team Brooklyn than for Team Manhat an,” he says. “I chalk this up to Brooklynites being more insecure, whereas Manhat anites don't really feel the need to prove themselves. The Brooklyn Bridge swim is unique because it crosses the
Deanne Draeger swims the 2010 Rose Pitonof event, a 17-mile route established by Draeger’s organisation, Urban Swim. The race commemorates the New York swimmer Rose Pitonof who in 1911 swam from the East River to Coney Island
river rather than running parallel to the shore, making tides and schedules especially hard to manage. But the high level of boat traffi c makes arranging the swims a complex business at the best of times, says Berger, who likens the challenge of directing swimmers to herding cats. The profi le of New York, however, ensures that he takes a very high degree of care. His team hire about 400 boats a year, and put considerable eff ort into training the crew. “I don’t know of any other event in the world that hires as many boats as we do,” says Berger. He is unrepentant about the stringent nature of the registration process: entrants need to provide documentary evidence that they have completed previous swims of a suitable distance. “There are not many exit points. We just don’t want people out there who have no business being out there.”
47
Photo © Gerry Louw
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76