The Durango Swim Club raised more than $6,000 and swam for 12 consecutive hours at last week’s annual fundraiser.
The team of 35 swimmers, some as young as 6 years old, swam two- and four-person relays logged a total distance of more than 210,000 yards, which is the equivalent of 120 miles, in relays that took three, six and 12 hours.
The two-person team of Haley Benjamin and Quinn Schmidt outdid the rest, as they combined to swim more than 46,000 yards in the 12-hour period.
“Their original goal was to break the English Channel two-person relay record which is 21 miles in 8 hours and 22 minutes,” Durango Swim Club head coach Alex Martinek wrote in an email to The Durango Herald. “They finished their 21 miles in 7 hours and 14 minutes.”
Martinek was impressed by his older swimmers, but the effort and enthusiasm from the younger athletes was encouraging. David Chang (9), Raina Dixon (7), Sydney Fraley (10), Betty Holcomb (9), Lauren McCourt (9), Aileen McManus (8), Noah Oury (9), Merin Schmidt (9) and Denny Woods (8) all swam the mile in under 30 minutes.
“I was very impressed with how the younger kids cheered each other on and celebrated each swimmers success,” assistant coach Brandon Walker said. “At 5:50, 17 pizzas were delivered to the pool, and the ragged swimmers jumped into their teammates’ lanes to finish the last few laps as a team.”
Next up for the Durango Swim Club is a May 13 meet in Glenwood Springs before the May 26 Narrow Horse 1,500-meter Swim at the Durango Community Recreation Center.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
