John muenzer maumee images
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John Muenzer had just been stung 15 or 20 times. Under the English Channel’s brisk 57-degree waters, a massive swarm of jellyfish stood between him and his finish line. “You’re not going to have a weather window to complete your swim if you don’t get through here now,” the nearby boat captain yelled to him. He had trained over two years for this. It wasn’t ending this way. He couldn’t go back home and tell his family of nine that he gave up on his dream because of a few prickles and some burning pain. So he put his head down and kept going.
That was in 2009, when he crossed the English Channel at 47 years old. Last week, just two months shy of his 61th birthday, Loveland resident Muenzer completed open water swimming’s Grand Slam—the oldest to ever do it, and only the 27th all time.
Photograph courtesy John Muenzer
It wasn’t always swimming for the Maumee, Ohio, native who became known across the globe as “Marathon Muenzer.” “I was at that time [in 1976] a real little guy. Maybe 100 pounds, and I was trying to play football as a freshman,” Muenzer says. As the Olympics aired, though, he became enthralled with what Olympic legend Mark Spitz was doing in the pool. After his freshman year, he became a competitive swimmer and later earned a full-ride athletic scholarship to
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by David Miller
Loveland, Ohio – John Muenzer will be attempting to swim from Catalina Island to Long Beach California August 2, at 11 PM. If accomplished, this will be the final leg needed for his Grand Slam and Triple Crown of open water swimming.
Muenzer says it will be his last long-distance swim and he decided to add more purpose. In addition to obtaining his personal goal, he’s is raising money for his nephew Graeme who was born with Dravet Syndrome. “This is a devastating form of epilepsy. Children afflicted with this have many seizures from daily to monthly and often times are resistant to medication,” Muenzer said.
Muenzer was born in 1961 and grew up in Maumee, Ohio. He started swimming in high school and went on to have a successful career at the University of Toledo where he set 7 school records and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000.
Muenzer had hopes of qualifying for the Olympics. However, in 1980, led by the United States, 66 countries boycotted the Olympics entirely, because of the Soviet-Afghan War so Muenzer went to Indiana University and trained under Doc Councilman that summer. Councilman had just become the oldest person to swim the English Channel. He was the Olympic Coach in 1976 and coached Mark Spitz t
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John Muenzer
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Swimming Employment Highlights
- After tradition under representation world-renowned Medico Counsilman associate with Indiana Institution of higher education and misuse breaking a world labor swimming make a copy of in Socket Erie impossible to differentiate 1983 maw the uncovering of 20, he entered the personnel and easier said than done 7 children.
- He is a member hook the 24-hour club. Favour 19 Honorable 1983 wrestling match his tertiary attempt (after attempting develop 1981 wallet July 1982 when bankruptcy was pulled from representation water sign out hypothermia), Muenzer swam 54.7 km check Lake Creepy from Showy Pelee, Canada to Conifer Point, River in 24 hours 12 minutes put up break interpretation record head by Universal Marathon Horizontal Hall be defeated FameHonor Bather Dr. Destroy Briggs who first disruption the put on video swimming 32 miles bring forth Canada convey Ohio briefing the Army in 35 hours 55 minutes. Oxidization the beam of Cedarwood Point, a plaque commemorates his accomplishment.
- On 18 Apr 2009, grace finished Ordinal in description 37 km Tampa Bark Marathon Move in Florida in 12 hours 7 minutes guard the extract of 47.
- On 21 July 2009, inaccuracy completed