Jennifer Figge (born November 12, 1952[1]) is an American athlete from Aspen, Colorado. Born in Davenport, Iowa, Figge is the daughter of opera singer Margherita Roberti. In early 2009 for 24 days ending on February 5 she swam several sections of the Atlantic Ocean from the Cape Verde Islands off Africa to Chacachacare Island in Trinidad off Venezuela (a total of 2,160 mi (3,480 km)), spending much of the time in a shark cage while swimming up to 8 hours a day, battling strong winds and waves up to 30 feet.[2] She had originally planned to swim to the Bahamas, but was blown 1,000 miles (1,600 km) off course.[3]

Several major media outlets initially erroneously reported she swam the entire distance across the ocean. The claim was challenged by several sources, as mathematically, Figge would have had to swim over 90 miles (140 km) a day at about ten miles per hour – a physical impossibility.[4][5][6] In an interview with the Associated Press, Figge said she "never intended to swim the Atlantic."[7]

See also

• Guy Delage, who made an unverified claim to have swum across the Atlantic with the help of a kick board
• Benoît Lecomte, the first person to swim across the Atlantic without a kick board
• List of female adventurers

References

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