Greg O'Connor

Greg O'Connor after completing a 20-mile 11 hour 5 minute four-way crossing of Lake Willoughby in Vermont

Greg O'Connor, founder of the Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association and the P2P Swim across the American Channel

First International Vampire Swims in Cork, Ireland envisioned by Jaimie Monahan, Greg O’Connor, and Phil White

Vermont Open Water Swimming Hall of Fame, Honor Marathon and Cold Water Swimmer and Contributor Administrator

Greg O'Connor is a 51-year-old American ice swimmer and marathon swimmer from Natick, Massachusetts.

Open Water Swimming Career Highlights

• On 2 August 2008, he completed the 12.9 km Boston Light Swim in Massachusetts in 2 hours 54 minutes 14 seconds at the age of 49.
• On 25 July 2009, he completed the 16.1 km Kingdom Swim in Lake Memphremagog, Vermont in 5 hours 1 minute 2 seconds at the age of 40.
• On 24 July 2010, he completed the 16.1 km Kingdom Swim in Lake Memphremagog, Vermont in 4 hours 44 minutes 9 seconds at the age of 41.
• On 29 September 2010, he crossed the 42.2 km Catalina Channel from Santa Catalina Island to the Southern California mainland in 9 hours 26 minutes 48 seconds at the age of 41.
• On 11 June 2011, he completed the 14 km Great Salt Lake Marathon Swim in Utah in 4 hours 46 minutes 48 seconds at the age of 42.
• On 18 June 2011, he completed the 45.8 km Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in New York in 8 hours 20 minutes 40 seconds at the age of 42.
• On 10 September 2011, he completed the 40.2 km In Search of Memphre in Lake Memphremagog, Vermont in 16 hours 24 minutes at the age of 42.
• On 12 August 2012, he completed a 25.6 km P2P Swim, a crossing of Massachusetts Bay, known as the American Channel, in 6 hours 6 minutes 10 seconds at the age of 44.
• He is the race director of the Boston Light Swim in Massachusetts.
• He was recognized by the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame and the World Open Water Swimming Association as the co-record-holder for the fastest Boston Light Double, a 16-mile out-and-back swim in 6 hours 6 minutes 48 seconds on 12 August 2010 across the Boston Harbor between L-Street and Little Brewster Island in 59°F (15°C) waters. His marathon swim broke the 41-year-old record, previously held by James Doty by 2 hours 24 minutes.
• He competed in the inaugural Cold Water Challenge in Fairfield, Connecticut.
• He competed in the 2015 United States Winter Swimming Championships in Lake Memphremagog, Vermont.
• He is one of the co-founders of the Vampire Swims.
• He participated in the Memphremagog Winter Swim Festival in Lake Memphremagog, Vermont on 24-25 February 2018.
• He established the Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association together with Elaine Howley.
• He completed an Ice Mile under the auspices of the International Ice Swimming Association in South Boston on 6 April 2014.
• He is a member of the Memphremagog Winter Swimming Society and one of the famed 41 Pioneers.
• He helped organize the second annual Memphremagog Winter Swim Festival in March 2016.
• He assists as a pilot in the 25-mile (40 km) In Search of Memphre between Vermont (USA) and Quebec (Canada).
• He completed the 25-mile In Search of Memphre in 2011.
• He completed the 2009 Kingdom Swim in Lake Memphremagog.
• Between 25-28 April 2018, he will attempt all four stage swims of the SCAR Swim Challenge in Arizona (9.5-mile or 15.2 km Saguaro Lake + 9-mile or 14.4 km Canyon Lake + 16-mile or 26.4 km Apache Lake + 6.2-mile or 10 km Roosevelt Lake).
• He completed all 6 stage swims of the 120-mile 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim in New York between 19-26 June 2018, finishing in 42 hours 9 minutes 9 seconds for the 16th fastest overall time in history.
• He was named one of the World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Men in 2019 by the World Open Water Swimming Association.
• On 27 April 2019, he had the 18th fastest cumulative time of 19:13:51.0 in the 2019 SCAR Swim Challenge in Arizona.
  • On 24 August, he finished 19th overall in the 15.2 km Saguaro Lake stage swim of the 4-day SCAR Swim Challenge in Arizona in 4:03:45.9.
  • On 25 August, he finished 33rd in the 14.4 km Canyon Lake stage swim of the 4-day SCAR Swim Challenge in Arizona in 4:05:46.4.
  • On 26 April 2019, he finished 19th in the 27.3 km stage across Apache Lake on Day 3 of the 4-day S.C.A.R. Swim Challenge in Arizona in 7:15:11.8 at the age of 50.
  • On 27 April 2019, he finished 24th in the 10 km stage across Roosevelt Lake on Day 4 of the 4-day S.C.A.R. Swim Challenge in Arizona in 3:49:06.9 at the age of 50.
• He completed the unprecedented 20-mile quadruple crossing of Lake Willoughby in Vermont in 11 hours 5 minutes on 16 August 2021.

Honors

• O'Connor was selected as the 2014 Northeast Kingdom Open Water Swimming Association Unsung Hero of the Year.
• He was named a 2014 MSF Global Marathon Swimming Award finalist in the Streeter Award for Service to Marathon Swimming category.
• He was nominated as a finalist for the 2016 Yudovin Award for Most Adventurous Swim award by the Marathon Swimmers Federation for th first solo trans-Massachusetts Bay crossing from Gloucester to Strawberry Point, Scituate, a swim of 24.2 miles in 14 hours 55 minutes on 15 August 2016.
• He was nominated for the Streeter Award for Service to Marathon Swimming in 2016 by the Marathon Swimmers Forum.
• He was inducted in the Vermont Open Water Swimming Hall of Fame in its Class of 2018.

Vermont Open Water Swimming Hall of Fame Induction

Greg O’Connor, 48 of Natick, Massachusetts, is a marathon swimmer, ice swimmer and contributor. For many years, O’Connor has been a charismatic organizer of Boston Light Swim, the oldest marathon swim in North America, one of the founders of the Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association, a co-founder of Vampire Swim, and a regular L Street swimmer in Boston. He is an accomplished and recognized ultra-marathon swimmer, having completed the Catalina Channel, MIMS, END-WET, P2P across the Massachusetts Bay and set the co-record in the Boston Light 16-mile double crossing for which he has been acknowledged by IMSHOF and WOWSA. His quiet presence in Vermont has been central to the growth and success of open water swimming in Vermont. He was the very first person to sign up for the 10-mile Kingdom Swim in its inaugural year in 2009. He has been swimming and piloting patrol boats at Kingdom Swim regularly ever since. When Elaine Kornbau Howley helped establish In Search of Memphre in 2011 to re-launch international swimming in Lake Memphremagog, Greg was the second person to sign on for this 25-mile swim, and one of only four swimmers to complete the swim that first year, overcoming fierce headwinds throughout the night. He has been a pilot for The Search on numerous years since that inaugural swim. When winter swimming was launched in Vermont, Greg was there as one of the first swimmers to sign on and has been a strong force on the Organizing Committee of the Memphremagog Winter Swimming Festival, helping to assure that winter swimming in Vermont continued beyond its first year to become an annual event that continues to draw swimmers from all over North America and Europe.

Marathon Swimming Career

• He completed a 20-mile quadruple crossing of Lake Willoughby in 11 hours 5 minutes on 16 August 2021.
• He completed the 10-mile Kingdom Swim in Lake Memphremagog, Vermont
  
• He completed the 12.5-mile Swim Around Key West in Florida
  
• He completed the 8-mile Boston Light Swim
  
• He completed the 8.2-mile Great Salt Lake Swim in 2011
• He completed the 45.9 km Manhattan Island Marathon Swim
  
• He completed 25-mile In Search of Memphre in Lake Memphremagog
  
• He completed 20-mile P2P Swim from Provincetown to Plymouth across Massachusetts Bay (American Channel)
  
• He completed 15.1-mile Cape Circumnavigation Challenge around Cape May, New Jersey
  
• He completed 1-mile Ice Swim in South Boston, Massachusetts
  
• He participated in the 42-mile (51.1 km) crossing of Lake George in New York at the Lake George Marathon Swim on 16-18 September 2016
  
• He finished the 2016 56.9 km END-WET marathon swim in 14 hours 18 minutes
  

External links

• Memphremagog Winter Swimming Festival Begins Friday
• The History of Swimming 4 Long Days In SCAR
• 1-2-3 Goes James Penrose Across Lake Willoughby
• Greg O'Connor Goes Four For Four Across Lake Willoughby
• Around And Around They Go In Atlantic City
• Summer Swimming In Lake Memphremagog
• Vermont Open Water Swimming Hall of Fame on WOWSA Live
• Be A Trooper, A Century Of Open Water Swimming History
• New England Marathon Swimming Association website
• Boston Light Swim website
• United States Masters Swimming bio
• USMS Swimmer article
• In Search of Memphre
• In Search of Memphre website
• Boston Light Swim Reporters Notebook
• Plymouth to Provincetown (P2P) Swim Takes Off
• Two Knuckleheads To Make Attempt For Red Jackets
• Ice Exuberance By Jerome Leslie And Elaine Howley
• Alois Anderle's Walk Across Nix's Mate
• Eric Nilsson Faces Wind, Whitecaps To Win Boston Light Swim
• America's Channel Got Talent
• Plymouth to Provincetown (P2P) Swim Takes Off
• Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association
• Open Water Swimming
• Paul Rekoff's Awesome Five-Hour Swim
• Mo Is Better The Longer He Goes
• C4 Results From Cape Circumnavigation Challenge
• Cold Water Training Turns Into Cold Water Challenge
• World Open Water Swimming Association
• 2.6 Miles Of Cold Water Challenge
• Ned Denison Is Swimming On Cloud Nine
• MSF Rules Of Marathon Swimming Announced
• Hang Up The Goggles, Put On The Dancing Shoes
• Jim Doty Is Timeless
• Shipp To Shore...After 8 Miles In Boston Light Swim
• The Triple Crown Of Lake Monster Swims
• Swim Through The Night To Become A Knight
• Will Boston Follow Beijing, London, Rio And Tokyo?
• Marathon Swimming
• Olympic 10K Marathon Swimming
• Singing His Praises As NEKOWSA's Unsung Hero
• MSF Global Marathon Swimming Award Finalists
• Paula Yankauskas, Hardened Winter Swimmers Go 4 For 4
• Jef Mallett Isn't Frazzled About Boston Light Swim
• Memphremagog Winter Swimming Society Formed
• Top (Ice) Milers In History
• Rostislav Vitek Breaks Ice Mile Record
• World Open Water Swimming Association
• International Ice Swimming Association
• Open Water Swimming
• Blood-letting Open Water Swims
• Drawing Blood In The Open Water - Vampire Swims
• Cool Kids Organize Memphremagog Winter Swim Festival
• A Long Night Swimming Across Lake George
• Lake George's Turbulence Is Too Tough In First Year
• Fortitudine Vincimus, By Endurance We Conquer
• Watery Winter Wonderland In The Northeast Kingdom
• King Is Queen In The Ocean
• 2016 Marathon Swimmers Federation Award Nominees
• Marathon Swimmers Federation 2016 Awards
• Marathon Swimmers Federation bio
• 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim
• They Did It
• Have Fun, Do Good, Enjoy A Swim
• Ram Barkai, Martha Wood Swimming Fences In Near 0°C
• SCAR Swim Challenge Facebook page
• SCAR Swim Challenge, A Kent Nicholas Dream Realized
• Jessica Kieras Wins Day 2 Of S.C.A.R. Swim Challenge
• Fast Flyer Freestyles, Finishes First
• Keeping Pace At SCAR Swim Challenge
• S.C.A.R. Swim Challenge Breeds Toughness
• Sunset Starts SCAR
• Stunningly Spectacular! SCAR Swims
• SCAR Is On, The 4-Day Race Has Begun