By Tom, Tammy, and Carl
It was a clear and pristine morning last Saturday at Madison Park on the shores of Lake Washington as the eye swept the impeccable blue horizon, from the lofty white majesty of Mt. Rainier on the right to the clear and glimmering line of the Cascades off in the far distance.
The TWIM juggernaut, comprised of 9 TWIM Warriors, 3 friends of TWIM and one Alumni TWIMmer, plunged into the azure water at I-90 and started its massive power swim toward the finish line and victory, 3.2 miles away!
And a splendid and amazing victory it was, as all of our swimmers recorded sensational times and had absolutely fabulous swims!!! That’s the TWIM Way!
Arriving first at the finish line was friend of TWIM and fellow training partner, Shannon McIntyre. Shannon won 1st place in the Women’s Wetsuit division with a time of 1:10:29. Absolutely fantastic, Shannon!! Her trophy (a fat salmon, of course) was enjoyed at TWIMfest the next day!
Carl Haynie set a personal best time of 1:19:23 while capturing 2nd in his age group in the Men’s Wetsuit division. Congratulations, MT!
Next among the TWIM wetsuit competitors was Tammy Regan-Koppelberger who stormed in with a time of 1:22:36. That was sufficient for 3rd in her age group. Excellent job, Tammy!
New TWIMmer, Sarah Landrum, did absolutely amazing, nabbing 5th in her tough age group with a time of 1:28:36. She ages up next year, so look out! She also won a pair of goggles in the raffle (Note to Sarah: Tammy has your ribbon and goggles!).
Our very own coach Brian Guillen set a personal best time of 1:29:08 beating his previous best by nearly a full minute! He took home 5th place in a tough age group, too. Way to go, Coach Z!
New TWIMmer, Emily Castillo, did fantastically well as a first-timer at Fat Salmon with a time of 1:37:50. She was all smiles at the finish line. Terrific job, Emily!
Friend of TWIM, Rebecca Adamson, was close behind, landing 6th in her age group. This was just a warm-up for Rebecca who competes in an IronMan in the UK this weekend! Good luck, Rebecca!
Jill Jordan looked thrilled with her Fat Salmon swim and why not? She absolutely nailed it. Way to go, Jill!
Rounding out our wetsuit swimmers was Keith Robertson, not yet a TWIMmer, but we’re working on him! Keith did amazing for someone who just started open water swimming this summer!
Then there were our most brave TWIMmers like Zena, Kathy, Ben, and Jenny who tested 72 degree water and loved every minute of it.
Zena Courtney was awesome as usual finishing 20th overall with a time of 1:20:54. That time won her the gold in her age group. Way to go, Zena!
Right on her heels was Kathy Pelham with a time of 1:21:22 landing her 2nd place in a tough age group. Kathy improved on her time from last year by more than a full minute, and like Sarah, won a pair of goggles in the raffle. Nice swimming, Kathy!
Coming off a great performance last month at Friday Night Swim Races, new TWIMmer, Ben Hohmann, did exceedingly well in his first Fat Salmon with a time of 1:24:54. Great work, Ben!
Jenny Ferries swam the whole 3.2 miles in nothing more than a bikini. Her performance secured the bronze in her age group. Nice going, Jenny!
This race wouldn’t have been possible without the many volunteers and our very own COB Tom Walker was in the thick of it checking people in, escorting swimmers to the start, and rescuing us at the finish! Way to help out, Tom!
Congratulations to an amazing group of aquatic All-Stars and see you all poolside!
