Cindy Cleveland

Cindy Cleveland, inductee (Honor Swimmer) of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, Class of 2018

Cindy Cleveland with John York in 1987

Anne Cleveland, Marcia Cleveland, and Cindy Cleveland (no relation) at the 2011 Catalina Channel Swimming Federation awards banquet

Cindy Cleveland is a legendary American waterwoman and prolific Southern Californian marathon swimmer, active primarily in the late 1970s. She was also a long-time lifeguard and competitive paddle boarder and a two-time member of the 24-hour club.

After retiring from marathon swimming in 1980, Cleveland transitioned to paddle board racing and achieved several top finishes in the Catalina Classic race.

Open Water Swimming Career

• She was the first person to swim across the 12.4-mile Anacapa Channel from Anacapa Island to Oxnard in the California Channel Islands in 1978.
• On 27 September 1976, she completed a 20.2-mile crossing of the Catalina Channel from Santa Catalina Island to the Southern California mainland in 11 hours 4 minutes 24 seconds.
• On 5 October 1977, she completed a 40.4-mile (64.6 km) two-way crossing of the Catalina Channel (M-C-M) in 24 hours 30 minutes 32 seconds with the first leg in 12 hours 55 minutes 17 seconds and the second leg in 11 hours 35 minutes 15 seconds.
• On 9 August 1978, she completed a two-way crossing of the Santa Barbara Channel from the mainland to Anacapa Island to the mainland in 12 hours 48 minutes 20 seconds where the first leg was 6 hours 12 minutes and the second leg was 6 hours 36 minutes 20 seconds.
• On 16 August 1978, she completed a 74.7 km circumnavigation swim of Santa Catalina Island in 34 hours 24 minutes. A distance of nearly 50 miles, this feat went unmatched until 2011 when Forrest Nelson replicated the feat.
• In September 1980, she crossed 37.3 km of Monterey Bay in 15 hours 21 minutes. Her Monterey Bay crossing was unprecedented.

Honors

• Cleveland was named to the list of World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Women by the World Open Water Swimming Association in 2015.
• Cleveland was an inductee (Honor Swimmer) of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in the Class of 2018.

External links

• John Curley Crosses Monterey Bay In California
• CCSF Has So Much to Give, Offer and Share
• California Pioneer Cindy Cleveland
• Pre-dawn Swimming In Seal Beach
• Marcia Cleveland Honored By The International Marathon Swimming Hall Of Fame
• The World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Women
• Heroes and Heroines of the Catalina Channel
• Catalina Channel Swimming Federation Official Website
• Swimmer/paddler Cleveland receives Tom Blake Award
• Updated 24-Hour Club
• Swimming In The World's Greatest Wind Tunnel
• Swimming With Seals, Afraid Of Apex
• Foggy But Patti Bauernfeind Can Visualize The Shore
• Patti Bauernfeind Making Good Progress In Monterey Bay
• 24-hour Club…Swimming All Day And Night
• Antecedent Attempts At Anacapa
• From Shore To Shore, Beautiful Moments In Monterey Bay
• Third Time Is A Charm For Kimberly Rutherford
• Whose Record Will Chloë McCardel Break?
• California Channel Island Swimming History 1926 to 1978
• Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association
• Pete Peterson, A Classic Waterman
• Marathon Swimming
• Open Water Swimming
• World Open Water Swimming Association
• Open Water Swimming
• The California Open Water Swimming Oasis
• Pittmans Inducted In Marathon Swimming Hall Of Fame
• Rose Helps Swimmers Bloom In The Open Water
• Marathon Swimmers Federation bio
• Cleveland's Run A Clinic In The Open Water
• Man, What A Tough Swim Across Monterey Bay
• Updated 24-Hour Club
• 24-hour Club…Swimming All Day And Night
• Swimming For More Than 24 Hours
• Cindy Cleveland Honored By The Hall Of Fame
• Heroes, Heroines, Winners, Adventurers And Pioneers
• Catalina Channel Swimming Federation
• Catalina To The Mainland Or Mainland To Catalina?
• Kings Of The Catalina Channel