Lynne Cox

From Openwaterpedia
Lynne Cox is a dual inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame and International Swimming Hall of Fame
Lynne Cox's book Swimming in the Sink was nominated for the 2016 WOWSA Awards, a recognition of outstanding men, women, performances and offerings around the globe sponsored by the World Open Water Swimming Association in the category of World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year
Lynne Cox training alongside the Queen Mary, escorted by a paddleboarder, circa 1984
Swims Around The World by Lynne Cox
Lynne Cox
Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox
Grayson by Lynne Cox
South with the Sun by Lynne Cox
Open Water Swimming Manual: An Expert's Survival Guide For Triathletes And Open Water Swimmers by Lynne Cox
The Day the Whale Came by Lynne Cox
Lake Baikal in Russia

Lynne Cox (born 2 January 1957) is an American extreme open water swimmer, motivational speaker, and published author from Seal Beach, California. She was inducted in both the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honor Swimmer. The asteroid 37588 Lynnecox was named in her honor (Asteroid, Asteriod).

Swimming Career

  • On 14 August 1971, she completed a tandem crossing of the Catalina Channel from Santa Catalina Island to the Southern California mainland in 12 hours 34 minutes at the age of 14 together with Andy Taylor (age 12), Dennis Sullivan (age 14) and Stacy Fresonke (age 14), the first group of teenagers to complete the crossing of the Santa Catalina Island Channel in California.
  • On 20 July 1972, she completed a 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel from England to France in 9 hours 57 minutes at the age of 15, setting the record for the fastest crossing (men and women).
  • On 10 August 1973, she completed her second crossing of the English Channel from England to France in 9 hours 36 minutes, setting the record for the fastest 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel.
  • On 22 September 1974, she completed a 32.3 km crossing of the Catalina Channel from the Southern California mainland to Santa Catalina Island in 8 hours 48 minutes at the age of 17 breaking the men’s and women’s records.
  • On 4 February 1975, she completed a 23 km crossing of the Cook Strait in New Zealand from the North Island to South Island in 12 hours 2 minutes, becoming the first woman to swim the 10°C (50°F) water strait.
  • In 1976 she broke the men's and women's record for swimming the Oresund between Denmark and Sweden in 5 hours 9 minutes.
  • In 1976, she broke the men's and women's record for swimming across the Kattegut between Norway to Sweden in a time of 6 hours 16 minutes.
  • In 1976, she became the first person to swim across the 42°F waters of the Strait of Magellan in Chile in 1 hour 2 minutes.
  • In 1976, she become the first person to swim around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
  • On 20 December 1977, she swam 8 km around Cape Point in South Africa from Diaz Beach to Buffels Bay in 3 hours 2 minutes.
  • On 26 August 1988, she completed a 11.7 km swim across Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia in 4 hours 19 minutes 18 seconds.
  • In 1977: Cox became the first person to swim between three of the Aleutian Islands and the first person to swim 12.8 km (8 miles) around the Cape of Good Hope in a time of 3 hours 3 minutes.
  • In 1980, Cox swam around Jogashima Island in Japan.
  • In 1983, Cox swam across the three Lakes of New Zealand’s Southern Alps.
  • In 1984, Cox swam across 12 major waterways across the U.S.
  • In 1985, Cox swam ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ by swimming 12 extremely challenging waterways some that had never been attempted including the Five Lakes of Mount Fuji in Japan and the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco to Spain in 6 hours 10 minutes (the first woman to swim and first person to swim to Gibraltar Bay without a shark cage) and the Strait of Messina in Italy in 40 minutes 38 seconds as well as swims in Greece, China, and Alaska.
  • In 1987, Cox is perhaps best known for swimming the Bering Strait from the island of Little Diomede in Alaska to Big Diomede, then part of the Soviet Union, in 2 hours 6 minutes where the water temperature averaged around 4°C (40°F). In 1987 she saw it as a way to open the U.S.-Soviet border for the first time in 48 years.
  • In 1988, Cox became the first person to swim 7 miles across Lake Baikal in 4 hours 19 minutes where Cape Lynne Cox was named in her honor
  • In 1990, Cox completed an unprecedented crossing of the Beagle Channel between Argentina and Chile. She also swam across the Spree River between the newly united German Republics.
  • In 1992, Cox became the first person to complete a high-altitude swim across Lake Titicaca from Bolivia to Peru. Swimming at 3,812 meters (12,507 feet), she swam 16 km from the resort village of Copacabana in Bolivia to the village of Chimbo in Peru, in 3 hours 48 minutes in 13-14°C (56-58°F) water.
  • In 1994, Cox swam through the Gulf of Aqaba from Egypt to Israel and from Israel to Jordan to commemorate the peace process
  • On 13 December 2002, Cox swam 1.5 km from a ship (US-based tour company Quark Expedition's ship Orlova) in Admiralty Bay off King George Island in Antarctica in 36°F (2°C) waters in 22 minutes at the age of 45.
  • On 15 December 2002, Cox swam 1.96 km from a ship (US-based tour company Quark Expedition's ship Orlova) anchored off Neko Harbor, Antarctica to shore in 33°F (0.5°C) waters in 25 minutes at the age of 45.
  • In 2006, Cox swam across the Ohio River in Cincinnati from the Serpentine Wall to Newport, Kentucky to bring attention to plans to decrease the water quality standards for the Ohio River.
  • In 2007, Cox swam in Canada, Greenland and the United States with 4 swims along the Northwest Passage in tribute to polar explorer Roald Amundsen.

Publications

Her first book about the experience of swimming in Antarctica was described in Swimming to Antarctica published in 2004. Her second book, Grayson, details her encounter with a lost baby gray whale during an early morning workout off the coast of California. It was published in 2006. The third book South with the Sun was published in 2011 and is about Roald Amundsen, the polar explorer who was the first to reach the South Pole (in 1911). The book honors the 100th anniversary of his triumph. Her fourth book is entitled The Day the Whale Came''. Her fifth book is a very well-received how-to open water swimming guidebook called Open Water Swimming Manual: An Expert's Survival Guide For Triathletes And Open Water Swimmers. Her sixth book is entitled Swimming in the Sink: An Episode of the Heart; her seventh book is Tales of Al: The Water Rescue Dog.

2016 World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year

Swimming in the Sink: An Episode of the Heart is nominated for the 2016 World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year by the World Open Water Swimming Association. The nomination reads, "Lynne Cox's voice has echoed across the waterways since she authored her first book, Swimming to Antarctica, in 2004. After setting channel records in her teens, engaging in international diplomacy with her unprecedented Bering Strait swim in 1987, and completing more than 60 extraordinary swims around the world, Cox cemented her legacy with a series of books, delving into a number of profound topics. Swimming in the Sink: An Episode of the Heart is arguably her most touching and surprising book, intertwining her strength of character and renowned athleticism with human frailties that come from illness and grief. For writing about subjects that everyone can relate to, for showing a different side of her strengths and weaknesses, for writing so eloquently from her most generous heart, Swimming in the Sink: An Episode of the Heart is a worthy nominee for the 2016 World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year."

Videos

FISHPEOPLE


Documentary film by Patagonia includes an interview with Lynne Cox.

World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Women

She was named to the list of World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Women by the World Open Water Swimming Association in 2015.

Marathon Swim Stories

She appeared with Shannon House Keegan on Marathon Swim Stories.

External links

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