59-year-old lady does 27.8-mile swim throughout Lake Winnebago from Fond du Lac to Menasha

MENASHA (WLUK) — Tuesday evening, a Wisconsin lady completed a journey that began earlier than many people had been even away from bed for the day.

But, as a substitute of touring throughout a number of states, she solely made it about 30 miles.

When 59-year-old Melodee Liegl acquired to shore at Waverly Beach in Menasha, a small crowd was ready for her. She wasn’t simply getting out Lake Winnebago after cooling off from the afternoon warmth.

“I’m a little tired, yeah. It was a little bit longer than I expected to be in the water, but I was happy to finish. It was the longest distance for time. It was about three hours longer than what I’ve swam before,” mentioned Liegl.

At 4:00 a.m. Tuesday, earlier than the solar was up, Melodee Liegl was within the water at Lakeside Park in Fond du Lac able to go for a swim. Then, simply earlier than 9 p.m. she was at Waverly Beach in Menasha. Liegl took what’s normally a 40-minute drive across the lake and as a substitute took 17 hours to go straight by means of the center of it.

“This has been on my bucket list for a while, and I wanted to accomplish this one in some time in the near future, so I thought this year was the year to do it,” mentioned Liegl.

Troy Peterson piloted the boat alongside Liegl.

When it was throughout, watching Liegl end the 27.8-mile swim throughout the lake which had by no means been accomplished earlier than, made him emotional.

“It was a lot of fun. It was um, it was something special and you know, it was great to be part of history,” mentioned Peterson.

Liegl is not new to swimming lengthy distances.

“I’ve been doing it for almost 30 years, and for me it’s a challenge, and it’s not always about the time it takes to finish, but it’s more about the finish itself,” mentioned Liegl.

She added circumstances on the water Tuesday had been very best.

“We had perfect conditions it was a pretty near perfect for a swim like this,” mentioned Liegl.

When she did lastly attain land, a part of the celebration match proper in with Wisconsin’s tradition, she had a beer.

When jokingly requested about going again the best way she got here, Liegl mentioned, “Absolutely not, there’s no need to repeat.”