Large Lake Lore

The British have Lake Windermere where they have been holding national and international marathon swimming championships for decades. Lake Michigan, one of the Great Lakes in the USA, has been site of some unbelievable marathon races between some of the world's most renowned open water swimmers. Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan, was first successfully crossed in 1989.

Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand, has been the site of a relay triple-crossing. Lake Ontario was first crossed by Marilyn Bell.

A Chinese swimmer has now entered the lore of major lake swimming.

37-year-old Yu Lixin became the first person to swim across Poyang Lake (Chinese: 鄱阳湖), the largest freshwater lake in China, last year in July.

Yu swam 15K across Poyang Lake in 4:30. "It was my dream. By swimming across the lake, I also wanted to raise environmental awareness," he reported to the Chinese press.