Race Results 2007

On October 6, 2007, at North Cove at 6:30 a.m., when the Ederle Swim was scheduled to begin, it was so foggy that all of New Jersey and most Manhattan buildings above the 10th floor disappeared from view. It was so foggy that an eerie quiet spread upon the normally vibrant waterway as all vessel traffic ceased, New York Harbor shut down, and 10 swimmers who'd come from as far away as Australia were prevented from starting their respective swims from Manhattan to Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

fog

Three hours later, with nothing but fog in sight and the tide window beginning to close, the Coast Guard granted permission for the event to begin, with one caveat: The swimmers must set out as a group and remain in a "pod" until conditions improved as forecasted. The swimmers would all stay together, with the fastest going easy, surrounded by kayakers, who in turn would be surrounded and shielded by the escort boats. And so, after hours of being idle, boats were loaded posthaste, unsure of how far, or even if, the tide, fog, and other forces would allow them to continue.

Swimming straight from North Cove (rather than the Battery, as originally planned), the pod traveled through the harbor, rerouted between the Statue of Liberty and Governors Island, and toward the still-invisible Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Finally, as the swimmers approached Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, the fog lifted enough for the pod to be allowed to break up, and the individual challenges began. The participants continued through the Narrows, past Coney Island, across Ambrose Channel, and then, due to the delay, had to fight the tide as they made their way to the Sandy Hook shoreline. Marathon swimming newcomer Sebastian Neumayer led the field in a time of 5:39:33, and when all was said and done six other swimmers reached land at Sandy Hook. Congratulations to all involved in this historic feat!

Ederle Swim heads south in the Hudson
As the Ederle Swim "pod" heads south in the foggy Hudson, Governors Island and the Statue of Liberty are nowhere to be seen. (Photo by Susan Egan.)

Sebastian

The winner of the 2nd Annual Gertrude Ederle Memorial Swim

The complete results

  Swimmer Gender Age Hometown Time
1 Neumayer, Sebastian Male  24  Cambridge, Massachusetts  05:39:33:00 
2 Junk, Stephen Male  47  Perth, W.A. Australia  05:55:00:00 
3 Blanke, David Male  47  Austin, Texas  06:28:00:00 
4 Chalandon, Giles Male  50  New York, New York  06:31:00:00 
5 Macdonald, Marcy Female  43  Andover, Connecticut  06:41:00:00 
6 Ogren, Lance Male  36  Staten Island, New York  06:54:00:00 
7 Johnson, Andrew Male  42  Albuquerque, New Mexico  08:09:00:00 
8 Offord, Stephen Male  40  Porter Corners, New York  Did Not Finish 
9 Jackman, Rebecca Female  44  La Mesa, California  Did Not Finish 
10 Plewa, Kimberly Female  24  Rahway, New Jersey  Did Not Finish 

Thanks to Manhattan Island Foundation, Inc. for text, photos and results.  More photos and other information is available at their website: www.nycswim.org.