Submitted by Stacey Grimaldi
Imagine jumping into the clear, deep waters of New York’s Lake George, beginning to swim, and not stopping for 1.5 to 2 hours. That’s what members of the Haddam-Killingworth Masters swim club accomplished on Saturday, August 21, 2021 at the 10th Annual Lake George Open Water Swim. The event took place at Hague Town Beach, located on the west side of Lake George approaching the northern tip of the 32-mile lake.
Without the benefit of lane lines, ladders, or pool gutters to hang onto, swimmers had a choice of three distances: a 2.5K loop, 5K loop, or 10K loop. Ann Faust of Haddam, Jim Grimaldi and Anthony Mirabelli of Higganum, Yvonne Lee and Bill Manka of Middletown, and Suzanne Anziano of Killingworth all competed in the 5K.
Anziano, in her very first 5K open water swim, wowed with a first-place finish in the 50-54 age group with a time of 1:38:31, and 38th overall finisher out of a field of 112 swimmers. “I was a bit intimidated by the distance,” she said afterward. “I just tried to focus on reaching the next buoy marker. I’m proud of my completion time.”
Killingworth resident Michael Lanoue, the newest member of the HK Masters club, swam the 2.5K in the wetsuit category and was thrilled with his first Lake George Open Water Swim experience. “I’m the slowest swimmer in the pool, pond, or lake,” he quipped, “but I have always received great support from my teammates and I always finish. Next year’s goal for me at LGOWS is to lose the wetsuit!”
With or without aid from a wetsuit, in the Adirondack mountains or in the H-K pool, the athletes of HK-Masters demonstrate athletic perseverance, dedication to physical fitness, and team spirit. H-K Masters swimming is a program of the Haddam-Killingworth Recreation Department. For more information about the club, contact Jim Grimaldi at 860-345-7540.
