Woman looks to become 1st New Yorker to complete triple crown of open water swimming
UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) -- A woman from the Upper East Side plans to swim the English Channel in her final quest to achieve the triple crown of swimming.
At 47 years old, Fleur Sohtz's secret to long distance, open water swimming is eating... lots of eating, while swimming.
"Every 30 minutes, they are throwing off the boat to me what's called the feed," said Sohtz, who is a long-distance swimmer. "It's a bottle, where I'll have electrolytes and then I'll have gels wrapped around it. And for this swim, where the water's a little colder, I'll have a container with normally cakes or cookies inside of that."
She will have her cake and eat it too while swimming across the English Channel. Her team will throw it to her in plastic containers. Every 30 minutes, she will have 30 seconds to wolf it down and then keep on kicking.
"It's very funny, but you know, you get the sugar rush," Sohtz said.
Sohtz is a life-long New Yorker and swimmer.
In 2021, she cruised around Manhattan in eight hours and 30 minutes, freestyle, except under the bridges, when she flipped on her back to enjoy the view.
"I raced in pools when I was younger. Now, this is all about getting to see different places and bringing a really positive message to New York and beyond about swimming," Sohtz said.
Two years later, she swam the Catalina Channel in the Pacific.
Now, she's about to tackle the English Channel. She's in England currently waiting for her time slot.
If successful, Eyewitness News is told she will be the first New Yorker to complete the triple crown of open water swimming.
"I love the freedom of it. I think when you dive into water, you escape everything," she said. "You become very much just you and yourself and the movement of the water. It's a really freeing place to be."
Sohtz hopes to raise $50,000 in this trifecta for Asphalt Green where she trains, so more children can discover the magic of mastering the water.
"I love this sport. It's given me everything," Sohtz said. "If every kid in New York could have that, or every adult in New York could have that, how many doors would it open?"
If you'd like to support Sohtz, you can donate online.
The fundraiser helps support Asphalt Green's AGUA scholarships and inclusive swim programming for neurodivergent kids.
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