Going In Reverse To Be First

Liz Fry, one of the world's best female ultra-marathon swimmers, became the first women to successfully swim clockwise (i.e., swim against the prevailing currents) around Manhattan Island yesterday in 11 hours and 41 minutes. Previously, only one person had completed the swim, Kris Rutford, who has set the record in 17:48.

The 50-year-old asthmatic Liz Fry swam earlier this year in the "easy" direction around Manhattan Island when she placed fifth in the 2009 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim and has successfully crossed the English Channel three times since 2003 as well as run ten marathons and crossed the Catalina Channel.

Liz is the event director for the St. Vincent's Medical Center Foundation Swim Across the Sound and started the annual January Jam: MS Plunge for Parcells to promote fitness through swimming while raising funds for MS in honor of Dave Parcells.

Morty Berger, founder of NYC Swim, said, "What made setting this record so difficult was that Fry was required to swim against currents of up to two knots for extended periods in the Harlem River and around the Battery in lower Manhattan. Nearly 40 percent of her swim was against these currents."

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