The directors of the 3rd Annual Jim Whelan Open Water Festival, featuring the 56th Around the Island® Swim, have announced the competitor lineup for the legendary open water marathon swim taking place on Tuesday August 9, 2022, which starts and ends in Atlantic City, NJ.
This year’s lineup features two athletes returning from last year’s event, and two new relay teams, including one made up of four stand-out swimmers from local high schools who are also local beach patrol members.
The 22.75mi (36.6km) course around Absecon Island will start at approximately 8am the Atlantic City High School boathouse and travel the back bays of Atlantic City, enter the Atlantic Ocean via the Absecon Inlet, and return through the Great Egg Harbor Inlet and the back bays of Longport, Margate, and Ventnor. It’s anticipated that swimmers will complete the course in approximately 8-9 hours.
Last year, the swim proved more challenging than anyone expected due to the notoriously strong currents at the two inlets combined with adverse ocean conditions. As a result, the Race Referee and Race Director made the difficult decision to pull all swimmers from the water after 10.5hrs with no winner determined.
“After mother nature got the best of us last year, we spent lots of time and effort making sure this year’s swim would be even better,” says Assistant Race Director Sari Carroll. “We’re excited to welcome these amazing athletes to our waters and even more excited that we get to continue this beloved tradition that’s been part of Absecon Island for generations.”
The following is a list of competitors anticipated to participate: John Zeigler (PA), Robert Gatto (NJ), the “Tortuga Golden Striders,” (NJ) a relay team made up of Bob Pugh, Daniel Killinger, Robert Montgomery, and Frank Geraci, and “Team Thunderdome,” (NJ) a high school/beach patrol relay team made up of Gavin Neal, Patrick Armstrong, James Haney, and John Sahl.
Spectators are welcome to cheer on the swimmers anywhere along the course and can follow our social media pages (@jwopenwater on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) for live updates on race day.
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The Around the Island® Swim is a 22.75mi (36.6km) open water marathon swim that circumnavigates Absecon Island in southern New Jersey. The legendary swim, which started as a $100 bet back in 1953 between two beach patrol members, became one of the premier open water events in the world. After a hiatus, the race was resurrected in 2019 as part of the Jim Whelan Open Water Festival, named after the late Atlantic City Mayor, NJ State Senator, and advocate of swimming and water safety education. All proceeds from the festival benefit Green Whales, Inc. a NJ non-profit supporting various children’s swim programs in Atlantic County, NJ. Visit www.jwopenwater.org for more information.
