Hundreds take to the water in annual La Jolla Cove Swim – San Diego Union-Tribune

Hundreds of athletes ranging in age from 8 to 80-plus raced within the La Jolla Cove Swim on Sunday morning, participating within the nation’s second-oldest open-water swim.

They swam previous spectating sea lions, flocks of floating seabirds, Garibaldi fish, forests of kelp, and even large stingrays and jellyfish.

“It was beautiful,” stated Amy Dantzler, 61, of Manhattan Beach, who accomplished the 3-mile swim.

The water was heat, and visibility was clear with little chop. Daylight gleamed on the blue and inexperienced waters of the cove. The air smelled of salt and sunscreen. Sea lions leaped from the water whereas pelicans flew excessive overhead.

The La Jolla Cove Swim is second in age solely to the Boston Light Swim, which began in 1907. The La Jolla swim started in 1916, when it was held as a part of the California-Panama Exposition.

The longest race distance was 3 miles, an out-and-back swim to the tip of Scripps Pier. There was additionally a 1-mile swim, and a 250-meter swim for youngsters 8 to 12 years outdated.

As of Sunday morning, greater than 930 individuals had registered for the occasion. Most have been from California however some have been from locations like Phoenix, Tucson, Bethseda, Las Cruces and Tehuacan, Mexico.

Proceeds from the swim go to the Prevent Drowning Foundation, a San Diego-based nonprofit that gives free swimming classes for teenagers. The nonprofit additionally covers extra prices that may be boundaries to studying how you can swim, together with swimsuits, goggles, lifeguarding and transportation to swimming pools and the seashore.

It supplies about 60 scholarships for teenagers to take part within the metropolis’s Junior Lifeguard program, stated John Sandmeyer, vice chairman of the muse.

The nonprofit seeks to serve kids who don’t have prepared entry to a pool or the ocean. This yr it has supplied swim classes to greater than 6,000 youths to date, Sandmeyer stated.

“We feel like these are skills for life and everyone should have those,” he stated.

Last yr the La Jolla Cove Swim raised $30,000 for the nonprofit, in keeping with race director Aaron Brennan.

The first-place winner for the 3-mile race was skilled swimmer Eric Hedlin, a 32-year-old who has received two world championship medals within the 5-kilometer open-water race whereas swimming for Team Canada. He swam the three miles in a single hour.

He has usually swum 50 to 60 kilometers each week, he stated.

Hedlin, who was raised in San Diego and not too long ago moved again right here from British Columbia, final did the La Jolla Cove Swim when he was in highschool, when he stated he did poorly. He swam it this yr to redeem himself.

His recommendation for open-water swimming: take heed to music. For this race, he listened to trance digital dance music on his Shokz swim headphones.

“You gotta enjoy it,” he stated.

Michel Young, 55, of Ventura, loves open-water swimming as a result of all he hears is the white noise of the water and his respiration. He finds himself in a meditative state as a result of it’s simply him and the ocean life round him.

“You have to be okay with yourself,” stated Young, who accomplished the 3-mile swim.

Dantzler has been open-water swimming for 35 years and has executed the La Jolla Cove Swim greater than 10 occasions.

She a lot prefers open-water swimming over laps within the pool. It’s extra fascinating, more difficult and requires instinct and decision-making, corresponding to determining the place to go.

“It’s different every single time. There’s no predictability,” she stated. “It’s never boring.”

Mary Cantini, 81, of San Francisco, did the 1-mile swim. She swims 5 to 6 days every week for about half-hour, and solely within the open water. She swims within the San Francisco Bay, even within the winter, and he or she is a part of the Dolphin Club, an open-water swimming membership based mostly at Aquatic Park Cove.

Like Young, open-water swimming is meditative for Cantini. “You go in and you think about a lot of stuff, but you also forget a lot of stuff,” she stated.

Cantini used to do Olympic-length triathlons — she accomplished the grueling Escape From Alcatraz triathlon at age 69 — however she gave up working and biking as a result of it grew to become too taxing on her physique. But she nonetheless has swimming.

“Keep doing what you can, because you never know when it’s going to be snatched away from you,” Cantini stated.

Originally Published: September 7, 2025 at 4:50 PM PDT