1998 MANHATTAN ISLAND MARATHON SWIMMER COMPETITORS REPRESENT INTERNATIONAL FIELD
Posted online: Monday, 22 June 1998
NEW YORK, N.Y., June 22, 1998 -- There will truly be an international flavor to the 17th annual Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (MIMS)when it takes place on Saturday, July 11 ---six countries will be represented, as will 11 U.S. states among the 22 individuals and five six-person relay teams in the field.
There are 16 men and six women among the individual swimmers, including two-time winner Kris Rutford (1992-93) and four-time champion Shelly Taylor-Smith, the Australian who won in 1985 and then each year from 1987-89. She also holds the world's record for the fastest swim around Manhattan at 5 hours, 45 minutes and 25 seconds (5:45:25), which she established in a separate event in 1995.
The 28.5 mile swim will begin and end at Gangway Six on the Hudson River Side of Battery Park. The horn signaling the start of the marathon will sound at 8:50 a.m. Swimmers will race up the East River, across the Harlem River and then down the Hudson River in the traditional counter-clockwise direction. Depending on conditions that day, swimmers should begin finishing at approximately 4 p.m. The winner receives the Gallagher Cup, named for the event's founder, Drury Gallagher.
Here's a look at this year's individual entrants:
Duncan Adamson, of Stamford, CT is 28 and a client service manager. He completed the MIMS last year and has also won three mini-triathlons. He swam the first-ever 7.8 mile Little Red Lighthouse Swim from the George Washington Bridge to Chelsea Piers (Pier 62) on June 20 as a tune-up to MIMS.
Jay Benner, of Tacoma, WA is 33 and a swim coach. He has competed in many open water swims.
J.C. (Buz) Brenton, of Des Moines, is 63, the oldest competitor in the field. A retired bank president, he completed the 1990 MIMS and has also swum the 21-mile English Channel and the 12.5 mile Around the Island swim in Coronado, CA.
Scott Coleman, of Boca Raton, FL, is 44 and a real estate investor. He swam the English Channel in 1996 and completed the Swim Around Key West (12.5 miles) in 1994 and 1996.
Chris Derks, of Miami, FL is 28 and a forensic chemist. He completed the Atlantic City Ocean Marathon (10 miles) in 1995 and the USS 25 kilometer nationals each year from 1995-97.
Igor De Souza, of Mexico, is 34 and a systems analyst. He successfully swam the English Channel in 1997.
Kieran Fitzgerald, of Ireland, is 35 and a food company sales manager. He swam the English Channel in 1994 and has completed marathon swims through the Straits of Gibraltar and off the coast of Ireland.
Missie Hersey, of Richmond, VA, is 50 and the owner of a picture-framing business. She completed the Swim Around Key West in 1991 and the Chesapeake Bay swim (6.5 miles) in 1989.
Benn Kramer, of West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is 41 and a property manager. He is a real veteran of MIMS, having completed it 13 times previously!
Fausta Moreno, of Mexico, is 40 and a postal employee. She has completed many open water marathon swims of at least five miles in Mexico, including the Guadalupino marathon.
Toshio Ogawa, of Kanagawa, Japan, is 43 and a furniture maker. He has completed many open water swims of at least five miles in Japan.
Sarah Rice, of Miami Shores, FL, is a 17-year-old high school student and the youngest swimmer in the field. Her mother, Gail Rice, won the MIMS in 1995 and finished second (first among women) in 1996. Sarah completed the Swim Around Key West in 1996 and 1997.
Michael Ross, of New York, NY, is 50 and the owner of a health club. He has completed many mini-marathons and says that turning 50 motivated him to test himself by attempting the MIMS.
Kris Rutford, of Lincoln, NB, is 38 and a certified public accountant. As mentioned, he is a two-time MIMS champion. He holds the men's record for the swim of 5 hous, 53 minutes, 57 seconds (5:53:57) which he accomplished in the 1992 swim..
Carol Sing, of El Cajon, CA is 56 and a recreation therapy aide. She completed the Around the Island Swim in California each year from 1993-95.
Meryem Tangoren, of New York, NY, is 26 and an industrial designer. She has completed several triathlon events.
Shelly Taylor-Smith, of Sydney, Australia, is 36 and a motivational speaker. As mentioned, she is a four-time MIMS champion and the world record holder for swimming around Manhattan.
Jamie Tout, of Austin, TX, is 44 and a revenue agent with the IRS. He has completed seven previous MIMS and has also swum the English Channel.
Oliver Turner, of Fort Collins, CO, is 27 and a veterinarian. He completed the 1994 MIMS, swam the English Channel in 1995 and has completed numerous marathons in England, Ireland and Wales.
Peter Urrea, of San Francisco, CA, is 58 and a pharmaceutical research project manager. He completed the 1994 MIMS and the English Channel in 1996.
Gerald Vance, of Westmont, NJ, is 55 and a school bus driver and lifeguard. He has completed the Chesapeake Bay swim.
Larry Weiss, of Lubbock, TX, is 50 and self-employed. He completed the 1989 and 1992 MIMS.
The five relay teams in the field are the Bonita Bonitos, based in New York City, Team Chiropractic, based in northern New Jersey, Berkeley Aquatics, based in New Jersey, Badger Swim Club, based in New York City, and the Mamas and Papas, based in New York City.
The MIMS is sponsored by the Manhattan Island Foundation (MIF), in conjunction with Hudson River Park Conservancy, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and corporate sponsor D'Agostino Supermarkets. Proceeds from the swim benefit the New York City Learn to Swim program and the rehabilitation of city swimming pools. More than $50,000 has been donated so far.
More information about MIMS, including its history, past results, media coverage and this year's race, can be found at www.nycswim.org. |
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