Conquering Challenges By Swimming With The Fishes
Aug 15, 2022Posted by james
Though we have heard a lot about sharks off our shores this summer, those sea monsters don’t seem to concern Lori King. Originally from Pennsylvania, she is a public health researcher who lives with her husband and children in Rockville Centre. Just a few months ago, on June 5, she may have learned that 14 hours and 38 minutes of battling man o’ war, jellyfish and other obstacles in Hawaii’s shark-infested Kaiwi Channel just may be easier than life on land.
Lori’s grueling freestyle swim started on the Hawaiian island of Molokai and ended at Oahu. When she arrived, she had completed one of open-water swimming’s most difficult challenges. Lori became just the 86th person to complete the adventure. Hundreds more have failed to finish the route.
Lori took to the water when she was five years old. She swam competitively in high school and continued at La Salle University in Philadelphia. She took a break from the training and competition for about 10 years and then decided to jump back in and conquer open-water swimming.
Following several years of preparation, Lori was ready for the Hawaii challenge only to be stopped by the pandemic shutdowns. When the challenge opened again this year, Lori immediately took to the water for the opportunity to complete the 26-mile route.
Besides the previously mentioned obstacles, Lori had to fight the current, forcing her to actually swim 30 miles to Oahu. Then, there were the channel swimming rules. She could not wear any suit or apply any substance that retained body heat or increased buoyancy. No one was permitted to aid her during the swim. The challenge would have been nullified if Lori clung to a boat at any time or received any assistance. A boat was with her for safety precautions and she was allowed, according to the rules, a powder and water substance for hydration and energy every 30 minutes that was provided via a feed line from the boat.
During the swim, jellyfish stung Lori and she was strafed by a man o’ war. No sharks were sighted. She would have been pulled immediately from the water and her swim cancelled if any circled the area.
Now that the Hawaii challenge box has been checked, Lori is considering swims in Gibraltar and Greece. One friend believes Lori can conquer these challenges, too, because she has fortitude and she is fast and fearless.
by james on Aug 15, 2022 |
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