Nominees - Solo Swim of the Year - 2019
Public nominations for 2019 Solo Swim of the Year were open from June 2-10, 2020. 17 nominations were received, and are listed below alphabetically by last name.
Cameron Bellamy (RSA)
Barbados to St. Lucia (first)
150 km in 56:55 on Sep-15*
Ratified by Barbados Amateur Swimming Association
* Non-standard equipment used: stinger suit
Caroline Block (USA)
Oxnard to Santa Cruz Island (first winter Santa Barbara Channel Swim)
31 km in 14:56 on Jan-12
Ratified by Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association
Sarah Ferguson (RSA)
Around Easter Island (first)
60 km in 19:08 on Mar-16
Ratified by Marathon Swimmers Federation (documentation)
Sandra Frimerman-Bergquist (USA)
St. Lucia Channel
34 km in 10:37 on Jul-7 (course record)
Ratified by Marathon Swimmers Federation (documentation) and St. Lucia Channel Swim organizing committee
Krzysztof Gajewski (POL)
Masurian Lake District, Poland (new European unassisted distance record)
78 km in 31:53 on Jul-16
Ratified by Marathon Swimmers Federation (documentation)
Paul Georgescu (ROM)
Kaiwi Channel
45 km in 13:06 on Apr-9 (fastest in 2019)
Ratified by Molokai Channel Swimmers Association
Jessi Harewicz (CAN)
Strait of Georgia, Nanaimo to Vancouver (first)
59 km in 30:13 on Aug-26
Ratified by Marathon Swimmers Federation (documentation)
Elaine Howley (USA) and Kim Garbarino (USA)
Boston Light triple (first)
38 km in 14:22 on Jul-19
Ratified by Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association
Becca Mann (USA)
“Maui Nui”: Maui-Molokai-Lanai-Maui (first)
58 km in 20:53 on Aug-19
Ratified by Hawaii Channel Swimming Association
Ken Mignosa (USA)
San Miguel Island to Santa Cruz Island (first, and 2nd-longest California ocean swim)
67 km in 35:49 on Oct-23
Ratified by Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association
Stephen Rouch (USA)
Lake Memphremagog 2-way (first male)
80 km in 25:12 on Aug-23 (new course record)
Ratified by Northeast Kingdom Open Water Swimming Association
Kimberly Rutherford (USA)
Strait of Juan de Fuca
17 km in 10:22 on Aug-16
Ratified by Northwest Open Water Swimming Association
Sarah Thomas (USA)
English Channel 4-way (first, and new world distance record for multi-way route)
132 km in 54:10 on Sep-17
Ratified by Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation
Sarah Thomas (USA)
Blue Mesa Reservoir 2-way (first)
51 km in 15:36 on Aug-10 (elevation 7520 feet / 2290m)
Ratified by Marathon Swimmers Federation (documentation)
Andy Truscott (JEY)
Round Jersey double
102 km in 22:32 on Aug-1
Ratified by Jersey Long Distance Swimming Club
Avishag Turek (ISR)
Sea of Galilee 2-way (first)
41 km in 14:54 on Oct-30
Ratified by Marathon Swimmers Federation (documentation) and Galilee Marathon Swimming Association
John Zemaitis (USA)
Monterey Bay (first male)
40 km in 17:32 on Jun-5
Ratified by Monterey Bay Swimming Association
Rules for Nominations
- Swim must have occurred in the calendar year 2019.
- Conducted according to unassisted rules.
- Continuous or multi-leg (max 10-minute break) swim - no stage swims.
- Ratified by an established local marathon swimming association OR an independent swim documented to the standards of MSF Documented Swims.