Jennifer Figge’s Dream to Swim Across the Atlantic NOT a Reality
REVISED: According to some, Figge may have only swum 250 miles versus 2100 miles as originally reported by AP. Check out this article on Yahoo! Sports. I’m a little irritated at the whole thing. I actually showed my son on a map the route Figge allegedly swam. I don’t know what to believe. Oh well…I guess it may have all been a “Figgment” of someone’s imagination.
Imagine swimming 8 hours a day, for a little over three weeks, fighting a churning ocean (waves up to 30 feet) wearing an awkward wetsuit and the sun beating down on your face. Aspen Colorado extreme endurance athlete (at least that’s what I consider her), Jennifer Figge did just that. Figge swam from the Cape Verde Islands and finished up in Trinidad (she had initially planned to finish her swim in the Bahamas).
During her 8 hours in the water, it is reported that she vomited a few times daily. While in the water, she refueled her body by drinking energy drinks that were either thrown from the boat or given to her by divers who jumped in when the water was too rough to get the drinks to her any other way. Since she was in a shark cage, she did not need to worry about shark attacks. As for her intense nutritional needs (approximately burning 8000 calories per day), she carbed up during the day before swimming and recovered in the evening by consuming large amounts of protein.
Swimming across the Atlantic Ocean was something Figge had wanted to do since childhood and finally, at the age of 56, she has done that.
Jennifer Figge’s FaceBook page
AP Video
Open Water Swimming
