Wrigley Ocean Marathon
The Wrigley Ocean Marathon Swim was a cross Catalina Channel competition held on 15 January 1927, sponsored by William Wrigley, Jr. who owned the Santa Catalina Island Company in order to promote the island.
The swim offered a cash prize of US$25,000 to the winner between Isthmus Cover on Catalina Island to San Pedro on the Southern Californian mainland.
The Wrigley Ocean Marathon Swim attracted 153 entrants and 102 competitors, including a 17-year-old Canadian George Young who was the only finisher and declared winner with a time of 15 hours 44 minutes 30 seconds.
Young later recalled, "We put a covering of graphite over the grease before I put on my bathing suit to help keep out the cold... I had taken off my bathing suit when I was two and one half miles from Catalina, and I forgot that grease and graphite were my only covering as I rose out of the water."
Two women, Margaret Hauser of Long Beach, California and Martha Stager of Portland, Oregon, were awarded prize money, despite not completing the race. Only a mile from the finish line, Hauser was pulled from the water by her husband/trainer after 19 hours and 26 minutes, making her the contestant who lasted the longest. They received US$2,500 for their efforts.
The authoritative history of Catalina Channel swimming was published by International Swimming Hall of Fame Honour Swimmer Penny Dean.
Wrigley continued as a major sponsor in the Sport with the 2nd (1927), 3rd (1928) and 4th (1929) Wrigley Marathon for the Swimming Championship of the World in conjunction with the Canadian National Exhibition.
External links
- The Legend of Charles Zibelman
- When Sloan's Stopped Shier
- Night Swimming On A Wolf Moon
- Racing For Half A Million Dollars Across The Catalina Channel
- Swimmers on the shore before the start of the Wrigley Ocean Marathon at Isthmus Cove, Santa Catalina Island, 1927
- Wrigley Ocean Marathon 12 January 1927 The Catalina Island
- Hundreds Start Channel Swim, Los Angeles Times
- Swimmers on the shore before the start of the Wrigley Ocean Marathon
- Swimmers on the shore before the start of the Wrigley Ocean Marathon
- Swimmers on the shore before the start of the Wrigley Ocean Marathon
- Spectators on the shore watch swimmers begin the Wrigley Ocean Marathon
- Boats and swimmers in Isthmus Cove at the start of the Wrigley Ocean Marathon
- Boats and swimmers in Isthmus Cove at the start of the Wrigley Ocean Marathon, Santa Catalina Island, 1927
- Norman Ross and Bert Rovere at the start of the Wrigley Ocean Marathon at Isthmus Cove, Santa Catalina Island, 1927
- Byron Summers, competitor in the Wrigley Ocean Marathon, 1927
- George Young, winner of the Wrigley Ocean Marathon, receives a check from William Wrigley, Jr., Los Angeles, 1927
- Shore of Isthmus Cove on the day of the Wrigley Ocean Marathon, Santa Catalina Island, 1927
- Spectators attending the start of the Wrigley Ocean Marathon at Isthmus Cove, Santa Catalina Island, 1927
- Swimmers beginning the Wrigley Ocean Marathon at Isthmus Cove, Santa Catalina Island, 1927
- Rescued Wrigley Ocean Marathon swimmer in boat on stretcher, 1927
- Pauline Jackson Paved The Way Across Channels And Lakes
- On Course - Eventually - To The Olympic Marathon Swim
- Elaine Howley Making, Documenting History On WOWSA Live
- What Was The Most Impactful Open Water Swim In World History?
- Catalina Channel Swimming Federation
- History of the Catalina Channel
- Wrigley Ocean Marathon Swim in Sports Illustrated
- Young Occupies Palatial Suite In Los Angeles
- Shier Mendelson, Canadian Pioneer In The Open Water
- Catalina Channel Swimming Back In The Day
- George Young Swims Across The Bay Before The Channel
- Shier Mendelson Always Helping Others
- George Young Day
- George Young Voted In International Swimming Hall Of Fame
- Young Helped The Young
- Antecedent Attempts At Anacapa
- California Channel Island Swimming History 1926 to 1978
- Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association
- George Young In 1924
- Dan Simonelli Plans A Catalina Déjà Vu
- The Black Shark Handled CNE's Cold Water
- World Open Water Swimming Association
- Open Water Swimming
- Midnight Ties Between Myrtle Huddleston, Wayne Strach
- Quienes Sueñan y Construyen, The Life Of Antonio Argüelles
- When Channel Swimming History Was Young
