Woman sets sights on triple crown

AN open water swimmer hopes to complete the triple crown of open water swimming when she takes on the Santa Catalina Channel on Wednesday.

Laura Reineke, founder of Friends of the Thames, said she hopes the swim will raise awareness of the threats faced by waterways and as well as funds for her river restoration charity.

She will depart from Santa Catalina Island at 10pm Pacific Standard Time and expects to reach mainland Los Angeles within 13 to 20 hours after swimming a total of 21 miles.

She said: “You get it done before the Santa Catalina wind blows in the afternoon, so you hopefully have finished your swim by then.

“The wind gets up and then in gets very rough and if you come against that you’re in trouble really.” Ms Reineke has already completed two legs of the triple crown.

She swam the English Channel in 2023 in 15 hours and 23 minutes, and completed the 20 bridges swim around Manhattan Island in June in nine hours and 14 minutes.

She said that completing the triple crown has been her goal since completing the first marathon swim in 2023.

She said: “When you finish a big swim having done all of that training and the lead-up and excitement, it’s weird not to have a challenge booked.

“So I always have the next goal in my head. I don’t think you can ever feel more confident, they’re all very different and anything can happen.

“I know that I’ve done everything in my power to get to the other side, I’ve done the training and I’ve worked hard.”

She will be joined by best friend and training partner Lee Saudan, from Huntercombe, who will complete the swim the following week.

She and husband Richard will be aboard Ms Reineke’s pilot boat as crew, plotting her route, and mixing her feeds, which will be liquid form and she will take via a line in a bottle.

They will also keep an eye on her during the swim along with two kayakers who will take shifts alongside her. She said: “I’m hoping that I get dolphins, I’m not hoping that I get other large fish with teeth.”

To donate to Ms Reineke’s fundraiser, visit www.crowd
funder.co.uk/p/lauras
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