Katie Blair

Lessons from the Water: a Swimmer's Journey through the Tides of Life by Katie Blair

Swimming with Shivers is a book co-authored by Claire Bunker-Fellingham and Gary Standen

Katie Blair née Benoit

Katie Blair née Benoit before swimming the Molokai Channel

Katie Blair née Benoit in her Endless Pool training for the North Channel, her fourth Oceans Seven channel

Katie Benoit

Katie Blair (née Kathrin Raymond) is a 41-year-old German open water swimmer and author currently studying for her PhD in Performance Psychology and living in Huntington, Indiana. Blair is a lifelong swimmer who grew up in Germany. She has over 20 years of endurance sports experience including Ironman Hawaii finishes, swims of the English Channel, Catalina Channel, and Molokai Channel as well as circumnavigation swims of Manhattan Island and Key West.

Open Water Swimming Highlights

• She completed the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming and the Grand Slam of Open Water Swimming.
• She swam 38.3 km across Lake Erie from Long Point in Ontario, Canada to Freeport Beach in the USA in 13 hours 57 minutes 30 seconds under the auspices of the Lake Erie Open Water Swimming Association.
• On 10 August 2008, she finished 17th in the 10 km Horsetooth Swim in Colorado in 2 hours 51 minutes 9 seconds at the age of 29.
• On 13 June 2009, she completed a 18.4 km FKCC Swim Around Key West.
• On 12 June 2010, she finished 18th in the 45.9 km Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in New York City in 8 hours 44 minutes 32 seconds at the age of 31.
• In 6 August 2010, she completed a 32.3 km crossing of the Catalina Channel between Santa Catalina Island and the Southern California mainland in 10 hours 41 minutes 32 seconds at the age of 31.
• On 25 July 2012, she completed a 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel between England and France to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming in 13 hours 13 minutes at the age of 33.
• On 5-6 October 2013, she completed a 42 km crossing of the Molokai Channel from Molokai Island to Oahu in Hawaii in 18 hours 0 minutes.
• On 5 September 2015, she won the 40.2 km In Search of Memphre across Lake Memphremagog in Vermont in 15 hours 25 minutes. She [[attempt]ed a biathlon marathon at the In Search of Memphre event in Lake Memphremagog.
• On 13 October 2020, she attempted a 66 km two-way crossing of the St. Lucia Channel between Saint Lucia and Martinique in the Caribbean Sea. She made the first crossing to Martinique in 12 hours 30 minutes, but was stopped short on her way back to Saint Lucia after being in the water 29 hours 10 minutes at the age of 41.
• She completed a circumnavigation of the 12.5-mile Swim Around Key West in Key West, Florida
  
• She completed a 10 km Horsetooth Reservoir Swim in Colorado.
  
• She attempted a North Channel crossing in July 2014.
  
• She completed a 21-mile triple-width crossing of Lake Constance in Germany 11 hours 40 minutes.
  

Publications

• She wrote Lessons from the Water: a Swimmer's Journey through the Tides of Life, ISBN 979-8674807315.
• She wrote a story for Swimming With Shivers, a book co-authored by Claire Bunker-Fellingham and Gary Standen about true stories from, by and about open water swimmers doing cold water swimming, winter swimming, and ice swimming. The stories in Swimming with Shivers are from, by and about Carl Atkinson, Deborah Banks, Ram Barkai, Jo Barkwith, Andy Bennett, Sylvia Bland, Gideon Bright, Claire Bunker-Fellingham, Judith Charman, Sze-Ming Cheung, Chillswim, Tracy Clark, David Coleman, Phil Coombe, Talbott Crowell, Ned Denison, Nick Dorey, Dryrobe, Ros Edmonds, Rory Fitzgerald, Daniel Gilmore, Will Glendinning, Gone Swimming, Rebecca Goodson, Julie Gregory, Shaun Hales, Happy Cold Swimming, Louise Hazelton, Colin Hill, Elaine Howley, International Ice Swimming Association, Roni Jelgavas, Mark Johansen, Jody Jones, Ele Jump, Ger Kennedy, Ivan Lewis, Julie Lloyd, Jules McRobbie, Sally Minty-Gravett MBE, Jaimie Monahan, Steven Munatones, Diane Murphy Weaver, Jim Nyberg, Barry O'Connor, Outdoor Swimmer, Simon Parkin, Lisa Peake, Kevin Proctor, Jane Saycet, Val Smith, Fergal Somerville, Jodi Songhurst, Gary Standen, Lucy Stansfield, Kate Steels-Fryatt, Swimming With Smiles Book, Tidal Wave Fitness, Jonty Warneken, Karen Weir, Haydn Welch, Samantha Whelpton, Emily Whittaker, and Nicola Wood.

Training

Benoit used an Endless Pool to train as she is a full-time police officer with a 9-year-old son.

Heroism

In 2012, a massive hail storm flooded an intersection near the Citadel Mall in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Benoit selflessly entered the rising, freezing waters and helped rescue people from their flooding cars.

Honors

Benoit was named a 2014 MSF Global Marathon Swimming Award finalist in the Yudovin Award for Most Adventurous Swim category.

Marathon Swim Stories

She appeared with Shannon House Keegan on Marathon Swim Stories.

External links

• The History of Swimming 4 Long Days In SCAR
• Mark Whitt Inducted In Vermont Open Water Swimming Hall of Fame
• Shannon House Keegan Talks Marathon Swimming Stories
• Katie Blair Talks About Her St. Lucia Channel Two-Way Attempt On WOWSA Live
• Youth Is Served And Delivers: Christophe Maleau Crosses The St. Lucia Channel
• Katie Blair Attempts First Two-Way Crossing Of St. Lucia Channel
• Lessons from the Water
• Katie Blair Attempts Two-Way Crossing Of St. Lucia Channel
• Sue Dyson Explains The History And Challenge of St. Lucia Channel Swims
• Katie Blair, Ted Lomicka, Chris Allshouse To Attempt St. Lucia Channel Swims
• Crossing Lake Erie
• Swimming With Shivers
• Swimming With Smiles
• Swimming with Smiles
• Special Offer
• World Open Water Swimming Association
• Open Water Swimming
• Marathon Swimming
• International Ice Swimming Association
• I Got Stung
• Swimming With Shivers And Smiles
• Fastest Times Of The Grand Slam Of Open Water Swimming
• Real-life Heroine Completes The Triple Crown
• NYC Swim bio
• Detective Katie Benoit To Attempt Biathlon Marathon
• Catalina Channel Swimming Federation
• CSPD officer completes grueling swim across English Channel
• Katie Benoit Is A Heroine In The Water
• Ka’iwi Channel Swim 2.0, Insanely Interesting
• Katie Benoit, My Oceans Seven Training
• Katie Benoit Endlessly Shifting Life's Responsibilities
• Highlights And History Of the Ka'iwi Channel
• Triple Crowners Showcase Their Fountain Of Youth - Age of Triple Crowners
• Where Greatness Is The Standard
• Katie Benoit Oceans Seven giving
• The Success Of Failure In The Open Water
• MSF Global Marathon Swimming Award Finalists
• What Is The Fairest Channel Of Them All?
• What If...In The Molokai Channel?
• Remembering The 2010 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim
• Swimmers Of The 18th 24-Mile Tampa Bay Marathon Swim
• Christof Wandratsch Heading Back Across The Bodensee
• In Search Of Memphre And Back
• Katie Benoit Has An Excellent Swim Day
• Shipp Fits The Bill: NEKOWSA Swimmer Of The Year
• The Many Meanings Of DNF
• Marathon Swimmers Federation bio
• They Hit Grand Slams In The Open Water
• Grand Slam Of Open Water Swimming Updated List
• Endless Possibilities In The Water