Marathon Swim Stories with Lynne Cox

In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories we chat with renowned open water, marathon, and ice swimmer Lynne Cox. Lynne holds over 50 firsts and world-records and is a New York Times best-selling author and motivational speaker. We attempted to cover all of the bases in our conversation.

From lynnecox.com:

Lynne Cox is an American long-distance open-water swimmer, motivational speaker, and author. Over the course of more than 35 years, spanning a period equal to 8 Olympic Games, Lynne accomplished swims setting world records and opening borders, contributed to medical research, supported environmental causes, and inspired people to overcome great obstacles. 

Cox is best known for her swim across the Bering Strait on 7 August 1987. The swim opened the border between the US and Soviet Union. Her accomplishment was hailed by both US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at the signing of the INF Missile Treaty at the White House. She twice held the overall record for the fastest crossing of the English Channel – achieving her first record as the youngest and fastest in 1972. She was the first to swim across the Strait of Magellan, around the Cape of Good Hope, across the Strait of Gibraltar, across Lake Baikal, Lake Titicaca and the Beagle Channel. Her 2002 1.2 mile swim in Antarctica broke boundaries and contributed to medical science. Lynne has completed over 60 challenging swims around the world. 

As a world-class athlete, Lynne has championed the sport of open-water swimming, advocated for Title IX, managed the US women’s water polo team, and led efforts to establish women’s water polo as an Olympic sport.