Barra List - 2019

John Batchelder

John (38, from Colorado, USA) accumulated 370km of total distance in his official marathon swims - more than anyone else in 2019. By the end of June he completed all four stages of SCAR, six stages of 8 Bridges (before the 7th was canceled), and the non-pro Capri-Napoli marathon. In August he swam the length of Lake Tahoe, followed a week later by a 2-way crossing (29km) of Lac Massawippi, and an all-butterfly Lake Willoughby. Then he finished the season with Colorado’s Horsetooth 10K - all backstroke.

Swims

Sandra Frimerman-Bergquist

Sandra (36, from Minnesota, USA) is unique in the marathon swimming world for being actively involved in three distinct domains of the sport - pro races, amateur races, and solo swims. In 2019 Sandra competed in the iconic pro marathons at Lac St-Jean and Capri-Napoli; became the 4th and fastest person to swim the 34 km channel between St. Lucia and Martinique; and dominated a number of amateur races across the U.S., including her 4th consecutive win at the 58km END-WET swim in the Red River.

Swims

Stephen Rouch

Stephen (39, from Indiana, USA) was the Barra Award honoree in 2017. He continued his impressive streak of swims in 2019 with the notorious “Great Bays” 5th stage of 8 Bridges in June, the Atlantic City Around-the-Island Swim in July, and culminating in August with a 25-hour, 80km double-crossing of Lake Memphremagog (a new course record). Steve also managed first-place finishes at Swim the Suck and Lac Massawippi.

Swims

Sarah Thomas

2019 will be remembered as the year Sarah (35, from Colorado, USA) completed the first four-way English Channel - among the greatest athletic achievements of all time, in any sport. Forgotten amidst the collective awe at Sarah’s feat is the remarkable overall year she already had before the 4-way: A gutsy 14-hour Cook Strait crossing, a new women’s course record for San Francisco’s challenging Round-Trip Angel Island, and an astonishing 51km double-crossing of Colorado’s Blue Mesa Reservoir, where she held a 2+ mph pace for 15 1/2 hours at 7520 feet (2290m) elevation.

Swims

John Zemaitis

John (36, from Arizona, USA) quietly amassed an extraordinarily diverse year of solo swimming. In addition to completing two of the world’s toughest cold-water swims - the North Channel and Monterey Bay - John swam the three channels of the “Maui Nui” triangle (Kalohi, Pailolo, and ‘Au’au), a double-crossing of the Sea of Galilee, and the Tampa Bay Marathon course. Of note, John completed most of these swims in tandem with his brother Joe.

Swims