IGOR DE SOUZA WINS 20TH MANHATTAN ISLAND MARATHON SWIM
Posted online: Saturday, 23 June 2001
NEW YORK, N.Y., June 23, 2001—Igor de Souza, a 37-year old systems analyst from Sao Paolo, Brazil, today won the the 20th annual Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (MIMS). His time for the 28.5-mile course was eight hours, one minute, 49 seconds (8:01:49). It was his third successful completion of MIMS; he was also the men’s champion in 1994. His name will be engraved on the Gallagher Cup, named for MIMS founder Drury Gallagher.
"I was very pleased with my swim," said de Souza. "The water, which was about 65 degrees, was very clean. The Current was swift and I really enjoyed it. It's a great way to see New York." Morgan Filler, 25, from Seattle, WA, was the first female finisher, posting a time of 8:04:46. It was her first attempt at MIMS. Her name will also be engraved on the Gallagher Cup.
deSouza, Filler & 28 other individual swimmers, along with eight six-person relay teams, comprised a record number of total swimmers who began the race at Gangway 6 on the Hudson River side of Battery Park at the tip of lower Manhattan. They took a counterclockwise, Tide-assisted route around Manhattan, going up the East River, through the Harlem River to the northern tip of Manhattan, and down the Hudson River back to Battery Park. This year's swimmers represented 11 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, as well as Australia, Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Mexico & the United Kingdom.
The race was stopped twice by lightning, thunder and driving rain. All swimmers returned to their escort boats to wait out the storms. It was the first time in the history of MIMS that the race was interrupted by weather.
Finishing in third place among the individuals was Voni Oerman, 40, of Englewood, CO. She posted a time of 8:05:49. Coming in fourth and fifth place were Jose Serra, San Cristobal, Guatemala, with a time of 8:06:29 and David Blanke, 41, Austin Texas, who posted a time of 8:06:44.
Finishing first among the relay teams was Team Millenium, with a time of 7:43:22. Members included Karen Burton Reeder, Gail Rice, Regan Schrieber, Tobie Smith, Shelley Taylor-Smith and Tammy Van wisse.
The unofficial results of the swim are as follows (official time changes, if any, will be posted in a followup release but will not affect the order of finish):
1. Igor De souza, 37, Sao Paolo, Brazil, 8:01:49
2. Morgan Filler, 25, Seattle, WA, 8:04:46
3. Voni Oerman, 40, Englewood, CO, 8:05:39
4. Jose Serra, 27, San Cristobal, Guatemala, 8:06:29
5. David Blanke, 41, Austin, TX, 8:06:44
6. Tina Neill, 35, St. Paul, MN, 8:07:29
7. Vincent Wallace, 38, Ashley, PA, 8:13:01
8. Nora Toledano, 31, Mexico City, Mexico, 8:13:57
9. Cheryl Vega, 38, Hollywood, FL, 8:25:40
10. Meryem Tangoren, 29, New York, NY, 8:27:39
11. Craig Kandell, 40, New York, NY, 8:49:55
12. Colleen Blair, 23, Birkhill Dundee, Scotland, 8:51:23
13. Conor Gunn, 28, Ireland, 8:55:36
14. Ronald Frias, 35, Atizapan de Zaragoza, Mexico, 8:55:46
15. Gerry Teeven, 43, Coral Springs, FL, 8:57:02
16. Mark Dempsey, 42, Brooklyn, NY, 8:57:07
17. John Ceraolo, 40, Coral Springs, FL, 8:57:10
18. Nick Olmos-lau, 55, Washington, DC, 8:58:07
19. Henry Eckstein, 53, New York, NY, 8:59:26
20. Kevin Murphy, 52, Middlesex, England, 9:02:06
21. Tim Foxen, 40, Minneapolis, MN, 9:03:44
22. Kaveri Thakur, 17, Maharastra, India, 9:04:29
23. Morris Finkelstein, 50, Cos Cob, CT, 9:10:38
24. Carol Sing, 59, El Cajon, CA, 9:16:00
25. Orin Mccluskey, 50, New York, NY, 9:36:16
26. Helen Barker, 33, Jersey Channel Islands, England, 9:41:26
27. Eric Blakleley, 36, Jersey Channel Islands, England, 9:48:09
Three individual swimmers, Blair Johnson, Francisco Rivedeneira and Kris Rutford, had to retire early from the swim.
RELAY TEAMS:
1. Team Millenium, 7:43:22
2. Les Poissons Volants (the Flying Fish), 8:41:11
3. Dirty Half Dozen, 8:42:43
4. Team Whatever, 8:43:17
5. Willi Eeters, 8:48:03
6. Townsend Harris High School, 8:52:28
7. Le Bateau Ivre (Drunken Boat), 9:05:00
8. Floating Debris, 9:10:37
MIMS is sponsored by the Manhattan Island Foundation (MIF), in conjunction with Hudson River Park Trust and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Battery Park City Parks and WestGlen Communications. Other sponsors include Aquaphor, ClifBar, Clori-Free, GU, Mack's, Macy's, MTA, Neosoma, Speedo, Star-otic, and Victor.
More information about MIMS & MIF, including history, past results & this year's race, can be found at www.nycswim.org. |
|
