With blue skies and rolling seas, the 7th Annual SwimBowen was another extraordinary celebration of community, of swimmers, volunteers and supporters bursting with enough enthusiasm to keep spirits buoyed for another year.
Together we raised a staggering $60,134 for the Cancer Care Fund with donations coming in from as far away as Singapore, New Zealand and the Netherlands. SwimBowen’s founder Mary Letson was top fundraiser with $7,096 in donations. With happy tears, Mary passed on the Grand prize Whistler Get-Away package to second runner up Tammy Flynn Seybold of West Vancouver who raised an impressive $5,604.
A big congratulations to our third place (but first in our hearts!) fundraiser Anne Chollat who slowly but surely raised a whopping $4,434.
Anne’s swim was also slow but sure as she breast stroked the 1,500 metre course, starting 30 minutes earlier than the rest of the swimmers with her own personal water safety marshal to ensure she completed the race before the one hour cut off.
The last swimmer in and adorned in her signature duck swim hat, Anne’s finish was triumphant with the entire SwimBowen crowd cheering her in. She is a SwimBowen icon reminding us all that the longer, harder things to endure are within our reach. One stroke at a time.
Congratulations to the top overall finishers! 1,500 metre event: 1st place - Mark Kennedy, Vancouver: 23:06; 2nd place - Drew Powell, North Vancouver: 23:38; and 3rd place - Peter Zandstra, Vancouver: 25:33.
Top Overall finishers for the 750 metre event: 1st place - Patti-Jo Weiss, Bowen Island: 16:42; 2nd place - Alexandre Fernandes, North Vancouver: 17:30; and 3rd place - Leah Cline, Bowen Island: 18:01.
To our corporate and community sponsors, to our legion of volunteers, our beloved donors and of course to our fabulous swimmers - please know that together you created an epic amount of joy on a little beach in the middle of the Salish Sea.
So much joy in fact that the ripples will continue to spread making a positive difference to those that need it most. At the end of the day, there is nothing more uplifting than feeling empowered in the face of a disease that can make us feel utterly powerless. See you next year!
