NEW YORK, May 30. JEFFREY Jotz, 36, from Rahway, New Jersey, took first place in the second annual Lady Liberty Swim on Sunday with a winning time of 19:33. Second and third place overall went to New Yorkers: Michael Rossner, 41, finished in 19:50, and John Hughes, 44, finished in 21:44.
"It was bright and early but the water was great," said Jotz. "It was great to kick off the season with weather like this."
In the women's division, Australian native Rondi Davies finished first with a time of 21:25, good for third place overall. Finishing second and third in the division were Tobey-Anne Saracino with a time of 21:42 (fourth overall), and Bonnie Schwartz with a time of 22:00 (10th overall.)
Swimmers started the 1.5-kilometer swim from Gangway One in Battery Park. Swimmers swam along the Battery's seawall, past Castle Clinton, past the South Cove and up to the North Cove. A total of 128 swimmers represented New York City, the states of New Jersey, Connecticut, Arizona, California, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia, as well as Australia , Brazil, France, Jamaica, Japan and the United Kingdom. The skies were sunny and water temperature was 57 degrees. Swimmers ranged in age from 15-61.
The Lady Liberty Swim, the season opener of the NYC Summer Swim Series, is organized and sponsored by the Manhattan Island Foundation (MIF), Hudson River Park Trust, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, Battery Park City Parks Corporation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Proceeds from the swim benefit the Parks & Recreation Learn to Swim program, which helps establish swimming programs for children as well as rehabilitate swimming pools. More information about the Lady Liberty Swim including complete results can be found at www.nycswim.org.