Endurance athlete Catherine Breed has made history by becoming the first person ever to swim the entire length of the California coastline. Finishing her roughly 890-mile journey near the Mexico border on Monday, Ms. Breed successfully completed an open-water expedition that took nearly four months.
A former University of California, Berkeley all-American swimmer with previous marathon swim experience, Ms. Breed faced varied and extreme conditions. These ranged from shivering in 48-degree water along the northern coast to navigating through Hurricane Rachel near Dana Point. When fierce, unpredictable northward currents threatened to double the expedition's length, Ms. Breed and her support crew successfully devised a safe workaround by reversing course on certain sections without missing any distance.
The World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) is currently reviewing observer logs and documentation to formally ratify the swim. After living aboard a 52-foot sailboat and maintaining a massive daily caloric intake throughout the journey, Ms. Breed expressed a simple joy upon finishing: looking forward to eating for pleasure again.
