SAN DIEGO, CA 1/27/2016 — San Diego open water swimmer Robert Palmese, 25, will attempt the first triple crossing of the Catalina Channel on Aug. 11, 2016. He expects to spend 32 to 36 hours in the water and cross roughly 63 miles of ocean. This triple will be historic for the Catalina Channel since only about 300 solo crossings and a handful of double crossings have been successful since 1927. Funds raised will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
The swim is scheduled to begin at midnight on Catalina Island and end at the San Pedro Peninsula on Aug. 12. Under marathon swimming rules, swimmers are not allowed to make physical contact with anyone during the swim or wear anything that adds warmth or buoyancy. “I’ll only be wearing a Speedo, goggles and silicone swim cap in the water,” Palmese says.
Palmese completed his first single crossing of Catalina Channel in July, 2015. After fighting a strong cross current that prevailed for more than nine hours, he finished the 21-mile swim at 12 hours, 21 minutes, 42 seconds. He plans to officially launch his career as a professional open water marathon swimmer after completing this triple crossing in which he claims, “Failure is unacceptable.”
“I have always been in the water,” says Palmese. “When open water swimming caught my eye I knew it was something I needed to do. Growing up, I was never the fastest, but endurance is something I can put my money on. Mental fortitude is the benchmark of my success in the past and will be in this case as well. I like being a little off my rocker.”
Palmese is a United States Navy Veteran and a full-time college student athlete. He will be raising funds for Cystic Fibrosis again, as he did for his single crossing. Cystic fibrosis, which causes chronic lung infections and premature death, affects about 30,000 children and adults in the United States and 70,000 worldwide. More than 10 million Americans are symptomless carriers of a defective CF gene.
The efforts of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation have helped spur dramatic progress in drug development and therapies for those with the disease. Fifty years ago, most children born with CF died before reaching elementary school. Today, there are people with CF are living into their 30s, 40s and beyond. To learn more about cystic fibrosis and the CF Foundation, please visitwww.cff.org.
The CF Foundation is an accredited charity of the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance.
About the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is the world’s leader in the search for a cure for cystic fibrosis. The Foundation funds more CF research than any other organization, and nearly every CF drug available today was made possible because of Foundation support. Based in Bethesda, Md., the Foundation also supports and accredits a national care center network that has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health as a model of care for a chronic disease. For more information, go towww.cff.org.
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