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American climbs Everest, now plans attempt to swim English Channel |
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Written by Michael J. Crumb, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Thursday, 28 August 2008 |
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DES MOINES, Iowa - Five years after Charlie Wittmack trudged to the top of 8,850-metre Mount Everest, he's poised to complete a rare adventure sports double by swimming the English Channel.
If he succeeds in the 34-kilometre swim, the 31-year-old trial lawyer from Des Moines, Iowa will be the first American and fourth person to achieve both feats, an accomplishment known as the peak and the pond.
"It's a challenge that's been floating around in adventure circles for a while now," Wittmack said in a telephone interview from England.
Depending on the weather, Wittmack hopes to dive into the Channel at about 10 a.m. local time Friday at Shakespeare Beach in Dover and climb out on the French coast about 12 hours later.
Wittmack trained seven years for his climb of Everest, the highest point on the globe. Upon reaching the summit on May 22, 2003, he found himself in some of the worst conditions ever recorded on the mountain.
"I spent three days without food or water and a day without oxygen above 20,000 feet (6,100 metres)," he said.
As on Everest, staying warm will be a factor in crossing the English Channel.
"We expect the water to be up to 67 degrees (19 C) this week - at that level hypothermia is still a major concern," Wittmack said.
A swimmer in high school, Wittmack began training for the Channel swim about three years ago. For the past six months, he's been training four hours a day, mostly swimming. He has competed in a 20-kilometre race in Key West, Fla.
Michael Reed, president of the Channel Swimming Association, confirmed that Wittmack would be the first American to accomplish both feats. The others to achieve the double were from Britain, Greece and Mexico.
"The reason it's difficult is because of the body's physiology," Wittmack said.
Wittmack said climbers tend to be shorter with less body fat, while long-distance swimmers tend to have higher body fat, making them more buoyant, and longer limbs that help propel them through the water.
Randy Clark, the manager of the exercise science laboratory at the University of Wisconsin Hospital Sports Medicine Center in Madison, Wis., said that while mountain climbers and distance swimmers tend to have different physiques, there is a similarity in their physiological and psychological makeup.
"Anybody that is able to climb Mount Everest, or do anything that is highly physically demanding over a long period of time, it takes incredible cardiovascular fitness," he said. "And I would say the same about swimming the English Channel."
Wittmack arrived in England nearly two weeks ago and has been swimming every day since then to get his body acclimated to the water.
Organizations that govern the swim require that athletes only wear swimsuits, not wetsuits that could shield them from the cold or provide flotation.
There have been few successful crossings of the Channel this August because of high winds.
"It's going to be a great challenge, and that is what really appeals to me," he said. "These are things where you have to be at your absolute peak of physical conditioning, mentally as strong as you've ever been and have some luck."
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