Chris Green

From Openwaterpedia
Inductee (Honour Swimmer of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame
Christopher Green in white shirt

Christopher David Green ("Chris Green" born 21 February 1950) was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honour Swimmer in the Class of 2010. Green has participated in open water marathon swimming as a competitor, served as an administrator, and was an innovator and pioneer.

Marathon Swimming History

Green has completed a number of swims around the world and a grand slam of British Long Distance swims. His career includes the following:

  • swims across all 16 lakes in the Lake District in 2000. His swims have kept the BLDSA (British Long Distance Swimming Association) organization churning with a great variety of swims to process.
  • one of his favorite swims, Lake Coniston is 5½ miles long and near where he lives. He uses the lake as a workout the way other swimmers would crank out 4000-5000 yards in a pool. He needs the feel of the open water, the mystery of the depths, the methodical lapping of the wave to get that sense of accomplishment that other swimmers get when asked what their workout consist of. Most will answer with a yardage figure; Chris responses with the name of the body of water he’s transited. So for an open water swimmer, he’s all ready in the groove and mindset. He doesn’t do yardage, he does lakes and if he’s feeling challenged he will do a double.
  • his second favorite swimming spot is Morecambe Bay which is a tidal estuary north of Blackpool, England. The course is from a pier near the Bay entrance to Grangeover-Sands at the head of the bay. During Chris’s 49th transit of bay, he was stung by a jellyfish. At the completion of the swim, he was taken to the hospital for treatment. It was so severe that Chris contemplated never swimming Morecambe Bay again. The 50th and 51st crossing were history and he had the double record in his possession.
  • In the United States, his favorite swim is the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim. His swim across the Strait of Gibraltar was unique in that he did the swim in a cage. After that swim, he went to the Hydrology Department at Manchester and had them experiment with various cage designs to find the best for swimmers. This theoretical work was continued by a welder in Florida who added his own touches of adjustable pontoons for support to later versions. His swim in the Florida Strait was schedule to be the longest continuous swim in the world but as night fell the seas came up and the six-inch freeboard (the distance the cage extended above the waterline) did not prevent a Portuguese man o war from shipping aboard. Out came Green pointing and the swim ended at 32 miles; just reaching the edge of the Gulf Stream. This was a might-have-been for Chris but he was an innovator and with some assistance from Ben Huggard, a secret for how a swimmer can insert themselves into the Gulf Stream was incorporated into the swim. Some ten miles off-shore is Sombrero Key light. On old charts, it is shown as an island but now only on extreme low tide will the island appear. So Chris following BLDSA rules starting from land, standing in water about 2 feet deep and swam out to the cage in deeper water to begin the swim. One day, 100 mile swims or greater will

start from this location. For that contribution, Ben Huggard and Chris Green are pioneering the way for future swimmers.

Swimming Career Resume – 1969 to present

  • Lunesdale House
  • Hale
  • Milnthorpe
  • Cumbria
  • England LA7 7BN
  • Swimming and Administrative - 1969 to 2009
  • Executive Committee Member of the following:
  • Warrington Dolphins Long Distance Swimming Club -1975 – 1985
  • Howe Bridge Marlins Long Distance Swimming Club 1985 – 1995
  • Barrow Long Distance Swimming Club 1995 – present
  • British Long Distance Swimming Association 1985 – present
  • Swim Secretary and sponsor for 3 club swims
  • Swim Secretary for 2 BLDSA swims Safety Officer and Race Referee on 4 BLDSA swims
  • British: National level, around 10 race swims each year entered in England, Wales,
  • 50 x Morecambe Bay (10 miles) holder of one-way and two-way records
  • 83 x Coniston Water (5.5 miles)– record holder
  • 25 x Windermere (10.5 miles)
  • 2009 - winner River Tay (Scotland) and Loch Earn (Scotland) 10 miles
  • Veteran Trophy for Windermere 10.5 miles
  • 2000 - swam all 16 Lakes in the Lake District (England) (British Record) total 66 miles
  • 2004 - around Walney Island (26 miles) (British Record)
  • 13 x English Channel relays (Club, National, CSA and British Army teams)
  • Irish International - Lough Neagh - 10 miles
  • Lake Zurich - Switzerland -16 miles
  • Venice International - Italy -10 miles
  • Spain (Tarifa) to Africa (Ceuta) – Straits of Gibraltar – British Record – 17 miles
  • Gibraltar Bay - Gibraltar – 5 miles
  • Sea of Galilee - Israel – British Record – 15 miles
  • 14 x Manhattan Island
  • Seal Beach - California – 10 miles
  • Golden Gate - San Francisco – British Record – 1.5 miles
  • San Francisco Bay - British Record – 9 miles
  • 2-way Waikiki - Honolulu – 5 miles
  • Maui Channel - Hawaii – British Record – 10 miles
  • Round Key West - Florida – 14 miles
  • 7-mile Bridge - Florida
  • Middle Florida Keys – Sombrero Key to Alligator Reef - 35 miles
  • Fort Lauderdale International – 10 miles
  • Robben Island to Big Bay - Cape Town – 5 miles
  • Around Robben Island 10 miles on March of 2010 in 5:58.
  • Zurich - Switzerland -16 miles
  • Capri – Naples - Italy -16 miles (shorter than the traditional course as his pilot was unable to enter the harbor)
  • Venice International - Italy -10 miles
  • Sea of Galilee (first from North to South) - Israel – British Record – 15 miles
  • Great Sound Bermuda - British Record – 8 miles

World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Men

He was named one of the World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Men in 2015 by the World Open Water Swimming Association.

External links

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