WASHINGTON — An Air Force Academy professor set a world record in long-distance swimming Sunday when he swam from the British island of Jersey to France in 8 hours, 21 minutes, 17 seconds.
Lt. Col. Tim Lawrence of the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Department of Astronautical Engineering shaved more than five minutes off the previous record.
Lawrence, 40, from Waterloo, Iowa, is also the first American to swim the 14.8-mile route. He is only the sixth person in the world to successfully complete that long-distance swim solo.
Swimmers who attempt solo long-distance swims such as the route Lawrence took from Jersey have safeguards such as following a guide boat. Its crew provides navigation and monitors the swimmer’s physical condition. At no time can the swimmer touch the boat or he or she will be disqualified.
After battling in the last few miles and setting foot on the western shore of France’s Cherbourg peninsula, the colonel was greeted by 75 people with an American flag. Only then did he learn that he was the new world record holder. The old record of 8 hours, 26 minutes and 28 seconds was set in 2005.
Sunday’s swim is the latest in his long-distance swimming career, which includes completing two Ironman triathlons. Lawrence swam the English Channel in 1999.
Lawrence said he will return to the Academy next week, where he resumes his duties as director of the Space Systems Research Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
He is advising cadets on the FalconSAT-3, a cadet-built satellite. The satellite contains five scientific experiments and is scheduled for a November launch.
While he stayed the rest of the week in England with his coach, Freda Streeter, Lawrence had time to think about his swimming future, given the intensity of the training and how weather can cancel swims you’ve planned for months.
“I don’t know — maybe do a big swim every other year. I’m thinking of running the Marine Corps Marathon (in October).”
Lawrence wasn’t sure he could get in shape in time.
“I get as fat as I can, up to the Air Force max [for swimming in open water]. You have to put on the calories. I needed the fat [to endure] the cold. In England, they call it ‘Operation Fat Bastard.’”
But for now, he’ll enjoy his memories from the big swim. He’ll have to.
“The girl videotaping [his swim] got seasick; she spent most of the trip on her back, so I don’t have much video. But I’ve got the memories in my head. I can appreciate it right now.”
