Four Swimmers Attempting 25-Mile Lake Memphremagog Swim

Photo Courtesy: Kingdom Games

NEWPORT, VERMONT – MAGOG, QUEBEC – On September 10, 2018, four ultra-marathon open water swimmers will be attempting to swim the 25-mile length of Lake Memphremagog between Newport, VT and Magog, QC. The swim is In Search of Memphre, an amateur swim which was begun in 2011 to promote a more open border and search for the elusive “swimmer friendly” lake creature, Memphre.

The swimmers are supported by 14 boat pilots, crew, and kayakers. The swim starts at 12:01 am and leaves from either the EastSide Restaurant in Newport or Parc de la Baie-de-Magog. Each of September’s swimmers have impressive experience in the open water.

Abigail Fairman

Photo Courtesy: Kingdom Games

Fairman, 41, of New York, NY swims and coaches for Ride Tide of NYC. Abby is a long-time Kingdom Swimmer, having completed the 2011 Kingdom Swim (6 miles); 2012 Kingdom Swim (10 miles); 2013 Kingdom Swim (10 miles); 2014 Kingdom Swim (10 miles); 2015 Willoughby (5 miles); 2016 Kingdom Swim (25 km) and 2017 Kingdom Swim (25 km). Along the way, she swam around Manhattan (MIMS) in 2014 and crossed the Catalina Channel (2016). She was awarded the Barra Award by Marathon Swimmers Federation for her prodigious year in 2017: Arizona SCAR Challenge (all four lakes), 8 Bridges (all seven stages), Kingdom Swim – Border Buster and Pittsburgh 3 Rivers Marathon Swim, among others.

Kate English

Photo Courtesy: Kingdom Games

English, 30, of Seattle, WA, has been competitively swimming since she was 8 and through college at UC Santa Cruz. She is a “free spirit” open water swimmer. “ I find a body of water, grab a friend and go.” She took her first “dip in Lake Memphremagog at the 2017 Memphremagog Winter Swim Festival and returned that same year to swim the 25 km Border Buster in 7 hrs and 21 minutes. Her training for The Search has taken her to Monterey, Providence, Seattle-Tacoma, and Missoula. Her training regimen includes swimming a lot and eating “to excess at least 6 times a day.”

Daniela Klaz

Photo Courtesy: Kingdom Games

Klaz, 27, of Jamaica Plain, MA took her first Memphremagog “dip” in 2015 with a 6 mile swim. Since then she’s become a three-time Border Buster in 2016, 2017, and 2018. She crewed In Search of Memphre in 2016. She’s also swum the four-day Arizona SCAR Challenge and the 34-mile END-WET in North Dakota.

Susan Leupold Knight

Photo Courtesy: Kingdom Games

Leupold Knight, 48, of Kennebunk, ME, was a fiercely competitive pool swimmer growing up in Virginia and at UNC Chapel Hill, as well as an Olympic Trials participant in 1988 and 1992. In her 40’s she has emerged as an accomplished ultra-marathon open water swimmer and in doing so has laid down some impressive times, starting with Boston Light and Swim the Suck in 2014, the 15-mile Border Buster in 2015 (6:57:37), the English Channel in 2016 (9 hrs, 26 min), 20 Bridges Manhattan Island in 2017 (7 hrs 18 min) and the Freedom Day Swim in South Africa in 2018.

In 2018, over 60 swimmers have participated in cross border swims on Lake Memphremagog. In recent years, Canadian and US border officials have facilitated this effort to re-open Lake Memphremagog to international swimming. The City of Magog and The EastSide Restaurant have assisted with the logistics of the swim. Escort boats with caged propellers are provided by Magog’s Triathlon Club. Consistent with the mission of promoting a more open border, the 2018 Swimmer Scouts in both September’s Search and the earlier July’s Search are encouraging donations to the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project.

In Search of Memphre is hosted by the Northeast Kingdom Open Water Swimming Association and Kingdom Games which organizes over 25 days of running, biking, swimming, and ice skating events in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and the Eastern Townships of Quebec.

The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with the Kingdom Games. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.

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Pro Women Fitness

5 years ago

Gosh :

June Vyse Gravener

5 years ago

That’s a marathon swim
Hope the person in the canoe ? can stay awake.