{"id":275272,"date":"2012-09-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-05T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/braving-the-rough-waters-for-a-chance-at-glory\/"},"modified":"2012-09-05T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-09-05T07:00:00","slug":"braving-the-rough-waters-for-a-chance-at-glory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/braving-the-rough-waters-for-a-chance-at-glory\/","title":{"rendered":"Braving the rough waters for a chance at glory"},"content":{"rendered":"

It began as a promotional event for the Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park 96 years ago and it\u2019s mushroomed into the country\u2019s leading challenge for swimmers of all ages. Though the first incarnation wasn\u2019t a rousing success \u2014 only seven men showed up \u2014 interest kept building and, now, La Jolla Cove hosts a crowded event for some of the sport\u2019s most competitive participants. The La Jolla Rough Water Swim, to be held on Sept. 9, will test some 2,000 competitors over a one-mile triangular course or a three-mile Gatorman race to Scripps Pier. A triangular course offers arena-like viewing for the spectators at no charge.\u00a0 A junior course measuring 250 yards will accommodate the rest. There have been some interruptions in the annual summertime classic. It was halted in 1935 because of attention given the second exposition in the park, then again in 1948 because of polio concerns and finally, in 1959 because of media warnings of sharks in the area. Swim organizers nervously heard about shark warnings again in 2010.\u00a0 Although all the races are popular and well-attended, the Gatorman event is usually the most intriguing. It\u2019s significantly longer and more challenging than the course for masters and amateur swimmers.\u00a0 The Gatorman is also by far the most technical. Tides, currents and navigation play major roles in success. Rough conditions, resulting in a number of rescues, have hindered past events. Intense waves can add at least seven minutes to the swimmers\u2019 efforts. The swells can make vision difficult and the chop fills mouths with salt water. Among past participants, Courtney Lischke of La Jolla is remembered for her eight victories. In 1994, she was the Junior National Champion in the 1650-yard free-style. Last year\u2019s winners \u2022 Men\u2019s one mile \u2014 Michael Cohn of Solana beach, 20 minutes, 52 seconds; \u2022 Women\u2019s one mile \u2014 Amy Dantzer of Los Angeles, 23:12:3 \u2022 Men\u2019s three mile \u2014 Alex Kostich of Los Angeles, 58:20:7 \u2022\u00a0Women\u2019s three-mile \u2014 Jessica Heim of San Diego, 1:01:08.3. \u00a0 The 82nd annual La Jolla Rough Water Swim schedule \u2022 9 a.m.: Junior Swim (boys and girls 12 years and under) \u2022 11 a.m.: Women Masters Classic (19 years and over) \u2022 Noon: Men Masters Classic (19 years and over) \u2022 1:30 p.m.: Gatorman Championship (men and women 13 and over) \u2022 1:35 p.m.: Amateur Swim (boys and girls 13 to 18 years old) The start and finish of each event is on the beach at La Jolla Cove, 1100 block of Coast Boulevard. For more information, visit www.ljrws.com<\/a>. SWIMMERS RECOGNIZED The La Jolla Cove Swim Club has partnered with The San Diego Hall of Champions in Balboa Park to create an exhibit dedicated to the small area of beach tucked between adjacent sandstone cliffs.\u00a0 The exhibit recognizes and honors San Diegans who have reached milestones in the sport of open swimming, like Jack Robertson and Carol Sing, among others. Also on display is a large collection of trophies and awards won by distance swimming legend Florence Chadwick.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It began as a promotional event for the Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park 96 years ago and it\u2019s mushroomed into the country\u2019s leading challenge for swimmers of all ages. Though the first incarnation wasn\u2019t a rousing success \u2014 only seven men showed up \u2014 interest kept building and, now, La Jolla Cove hosts a crowded […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":275273,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11560","_seopress_titles_title":"Braving the rough waters for a chance at glory","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11560,11551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-275272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-la-jolla-village-news","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}