Fast Swimmers and Favorable Conditions Equal Speedy 103rd Boston Light Swim
Comments (0) SOUTH BOSTON, MA—In near-perfect conditions yesterday, 25 solo swimmers and 4 relay teams entered the 59-degree water off Little Brewster Island and began swimming the 8-miles to South Boston as part of the annual Boston Light Swim. The swim begins in the shadow of America’s first lighthouse and wends its way across the inner harbor past Georges, Rainsford, Long, Spectacle, and Thompson Islands to finish on the beach at L-Street in Southie. The event is the longest running open water swim in the country and has been dubbed “The Granddaddy of American Open Water Swims.”
The technically difficult cold-water endurance feat is a proving ground for many swimmers with designs on someday swimming the English Channel. This year, two English Channel veterans, Dori Miller, 39, of Bondi Beach Australia, and Lance Ogren, 39, of New York, NY, finished second and third among the solo swimmers. Ogren was the solo men’s winner with a time of 2:42: 57, while Miller was the second solo swimmer and second female swimmer, finishing a mere 30 seconds behind Elizabeth Mancuso, 24, of Brookline, MA, who won the swim in a time of 2:42:15. A third Channel aspirant, Dave Barra, 45, of High Falls, NY, finished the swim in 3:00:31. He is headed to Dover, England next week for his solo English Channel crossing.
Robert Fernald, 43, of North Hampton NH, and David Lee, 35, of Newburyport, MA, finished second and third on the men’s side while Sheryl Bierden, 37, of Westwood, MA, rounded out the women’s top three.
All four relays finished the course. The first-place relay comprised of Seb Neumayer, 27, a two-time winner of the solo race, Santiago Lima, 34, and John Kelleher 26, finished second overall, just four seconds behind Mancuso, with a time of 2:42:19. All three swimmers are from Cambridge, MA.
“Having so many swimmers coming in all at once to a near-photo finish was remarkable and an unusual conclusion to this year’s race,” said Greg O’Connor, Boston Light Swim Race Director. “In long swims like this, the swimmers usually spread out a lot more, but we had a really exciting finish with three solo swimmers all in the hunt for the win.” O’Connor says the spring tide which tends to produce faster currents and higher tides may have contributed to the overall speed of this year’s event. A high caliber of entrants was also noted. “We had some really amazing swimmers out there,” he says.
The Boston Light Race Committee would like to thank all the volunteers, boaters, and swimmers who helped make yesterday’s race happen. A special thanks goes out to the Boston Harbor Yacht Club and the Curley Community Center for hosting the event and to the U.S. Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary for monitoring harbor traffic and permitting the swim. Thanks also to United States Masters Swimming for sanctioning the event. We are looking forward to another great event next year on August 13th!
