Ted Erikson has been working on a three-generational swim of the Bosporus, and it looks like it's provisionally on for July 2010, during the 13th Annual Turkish Olympiad Competition. I believe his last swim of the Bosporus was with Umbra, the swimming dog, who has 4 records in the Guinness Book of World Records. And, as Ted's swimming cap says, he's still 18 years old:
www.10kswimmer.com/.../three-generations-swimming-from-asia-to.html
Ted set a record for a double crossing of the English Channel in 1965 and a record for swimming from the Farallon Islands to Golden Gate Bridge (31.5 hair-raising miles); his son Jon did the first triple crossing of the Channel in 1981.
:)
-cheers to Ted and Jon -wonderful gentleman and true inspirations!
-as was recommended by Steve Munatones in another thread you can read about Ted in the early days of open water swimming in: Wind, Waves and Sunburn: A Brief History of Marathon Swimming by Conrad Wennerberg
It was my fabulous luck to stumble upon the whole group of them one fine day. So, the early-morning swimmers have breakfast with Ted, then toward noon one can laze on the rocks w/ Connie, and so forth.
I might be lending a hand in trying to find sponsorships. PR ppl and those with good ideas, please feel free to send a PM! National Geographic did a segment on his earlier Bosporus swim with Umbra, who also swam Big Shoulders - the horn went off, everybody jumped in the water, she did too! - but she is just a spiritual presence now.
Thanks, Marjorie
-cheers to Ted and Jon -wonderful gentleman and true inspirations!
-as was recommended by Steve Munatones in another thread you can read about Ted in the early days of open water swimming in: Wind, Waves and Sunburn: A Brief History of Marathon Swimming by Conrad Wennerberg
It was my fabulous luck to stumble upon the whole group of them one fine day. So, the early-morning swimmers have breakfast with Ted, then toward noon one can laze on the rocks w/ Connie, and so forth.
I might be lending a hand in trying to find sponsorships. PR ppl and those with good ideas, please feel free to send a PM! National Geographic did a segment on his earlier Bosporus swim with Umbra, who also swam Big Shoulders - the horn went off, everybody jumped in the water, she did too! - but she is just a spiritual presence now.
Thanks, Marjorie
