Long-distance swimmer Lars Durban, 68, is one of under 400 people worldwide to ever accomplish the Triple Crown of Swimming.
courtesy photo
SNOHOMISH — Snohomish resident Lars Durban spent 14 hours and 5 minutes in September swimming across the English Channel.
“I got really lucky on the conditions. They were pretty good,” Durban said. He started near Dover and swam a little over 21 miles to the coast of France south of Calais. The temperature of the water was around 63 degrees and an observer in a pilot boat accompanied Durban to ensure he completed the journey without assistance.
His trip across the English Channel was the culmination of years of work that earned him the Triple Crown award by the World Open Water Swimming Association. The recognition is given to swimmers who have swam the English Channel, swam around Manhattan Island in New York City, and swam the Catalina Channel in California.
More than 366 people have earned the Triple Crown since 1987, which was the first year it was recorded.
Durban, who is a retired engineer, completed the Catalina Channel Open Swim in August 2021 with a time of 13 hours and 55 minutes, according to the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation. He swam around Manhattan Island in July 2022 with a time of 7 hours and 43 minutes, according to New York Open Water, which is a nonprofit that provides safety, support, and funding for open water swimming and kayaking.
At 68 years old, Durban said he is the third oldest swimmer to earn the Triple Crown. He said he started swimming on the high school team while living in upstate New York.
His older brother Eric swims long distances as well, and completed the Triple Crown in 2023 as the second oldest.
Prior to the Triple Crown swims, Durban in 2016 swam the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco, he said.
To prepare for the Channel Swim, Durban said he swam around 600 miles and a lot of that in the open water. He finds swimming in the open water more interesting with time to look around and have the sun on your back. “It’s good to train in bumpy conditions.”
He swims in Lake Stevens and Storm Lake. He also trains indoors at the Snohomish Aquatic Center.
He highlighted the help the people he swims with provides. “My swimming friends hold me accountable.”
Snohomish resident Stephen Jones met Durban when he moved to Snohomish in 2019. They met at the Aquatic Center.
“It goes both ways because it helps all of us,” Jones said. “For me it’s kind of like being on a swim team without any meets.”
Jones, who has been swimming for around 50 years, added that nobody else in the group even thought of attempting Durban’s long-distance swims.
He added that everything must go right, or a swimmer might end up swimming at night. It’s not about how fast, but the mental part of such a swim.
Durban is planning more swims for 2025. In March, Durban will be part of group that will swim at the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. He will follow-up that adventure in September when he and his brother, Eric, organize the Mount St. Helens Classic, which will be a series of four swims in four days at the lakes near Mount St. Helens.
