Marilyn was a member of AMSC for a time a few years ago. Here is her inspiring story...
Marilyn Korzekwa, a 58 year old MSO swimmer (unattached)
conquered the treacherous Cook Strait in New Zealand on March 18 in 11 hours
and 34 minutes! She becomes the first Canadian and oldest female have done
this. She was accompanied by Etobicoke Masters swimmer, Colleen Shields, who
served as coach. Phillip Rush, the legendary holder of the fastest triple
crossing of the English Channel, was the official observer and organizer.
Marilyn jumped into the 16 degree Celsius water
at the South Island at 9:30 a.m. After being swept along the shore for the
first three hours, the tide mercifully let go of her and she was able to swim towards
her goal, the North Island. After about 5 hours of swimming, it got choppy with
waves from different directions up to a meter for about 2 hours. When the waves
switched to coming from behind her left side, the water temperature dropped to
15 degrees C for the remainder of the swim. As the sun was setting, the
wave direction changed again and she got a mouthful of water every time she
tried to breath from the left. In the dark, Marilyn could see how the tide was
once again sweeping her past the North shore. For the last 90 minutes, she had
to dig deep and deeper and deeper still to sprint to punch through the current.
Finally, she made it to a cluster of rocks just on the other side of the surf
zone, meters from shore. Philip thought it too dangerous to go any further in
the dark and declared the swim successful. More details at www.cookstrait2016.blogspot.ca
Marilyn was inspired by the Canadian flag
flying from the boat, the many wishes and prayers from friends, and by the Sashbear,
the charity for which she swims. Sashbear was inspired by 20-year-old Etobicoke
swimmer Sasha Courey who died by suicide from Borderline Personality
Disorder. Please support mental health care in Ontario by donating. www.sashbear.org
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