Thursday, August 4, is the big day!  I have been writing updates about James Jonsson who will be swimming across Lake Tahoe in an attempt to break the world record.  James is a strong supporter of organ, eye and tissue donation and he hopes that people hearing of his swim will make the commitment to sign up on their state’s donor registry if he is successful in his attempt to break the record.  (Of course, he hopes that if he falls short of his goal, people will still support him by registering as donors.)

There are actually 3 lengthwise crossing records for Lake Tahoe.  One is from the north shore to the south shore.  This record will not apply to James.  The other two records both start in about the same place, but one finishes at the Hyatt Pier in Incline Village and the other finishes to the west of Hyatt Pier which is the longest point-to-point swim on the lake.  James’ final destination will be determined during the swim!

If James chooses the shorter swim, it will be 20.81 miles.  The current record was set on September 12, 1987, by Dave Kenyon.  It took him 9 hours 20 minutes.

If James chooses the longer route, will be 22.1 miles.  The current record was set on August 22, 2005, by Ken Harmon.  It took him 11 hours 19 minutes to make that swim.

James has been training for months, both in a swimming pool and in lakes.  He has worked on speed, endurance, and his ability to continue in colder water.  He has even had to work at gaining weight!  Good luck James.  We are cheering for you.

Tags: donate life, donor registry, Intermountain Donor Services, Lake Tahoe, organ, organ donation, organ donor, transplant, utah, yes utah, yesutah

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