INTERVIEW Queen of Manhattan Jaimie Monahan, record-breaking marathon swimmer and Queen of the Ice, talks to Luke Chamberlain about her love affair with New York, her place in marathon swimming history and her recent quadruple Manhattan swim am always impressed by and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame. Outdoor Swimmer: As a passionate people who have picked up What’s more, is that she’s also one of New Yorker, what’s it been like living new talents or quarantine the most decorated ice swimmers in in the city during the pandemic? skills during lockdown,” the world. Dubbed globally as the Jaimie Monahan: There’s been a lot [in “Isays Jaimie Monahan. I’ve been on Queen of the Ice, Monahan is the first the news] about our struggles as New the phone with the record-breaking person to complete the Ice Sevens Yorkers. We had a lot of people jump marathon swimmer and Queen of the Challenge: swimming an ice mile in ship and go out into the country and Ice for roughly ten minutes and already Europe, Oceania, Asia, North America, move to different states. That’s their call. we’ve discussed new-found lockdown Africa, South America and at any Polar I’m kind of a die-hard New Yorker. Of skills, the romance of New York City location at 60 degrees south or below, course, the city is more fun with all the and a certain well-known pop star. or 70 degrees north or above – with restaurants and theatres, with all the “Since you referenced my fave, Taylor one of those ice miles being a zero ice people and the energy on the streets. Swift, she had some extra time over mile (performed at below 1 degree). I think that for people who truly love quarantine and dropped a whole album As someone who would usually the city, it was eerie to be on the streets with 24 hours-notice. I definitely spend her year flying around the world with only a few people. I read that for admire that. All I achieved was eating to satisfy two of her biggest passions every person that you don’t see on the probably more pasta in the first few in life - travelling and swimming - to street, that’s someone who loves their months of 2020 than I had in the whole be confined to her small apartment fellow humans enough to stay home decade before.” in downtown Manhattan all year has and do the right thing during this time. Monahan is decidedly modest been strange. “It’s made me appreciate That was really helpful for me to try and - a personality trait I notice more how good life normally is,” she tells me. process it all. You mentioned that New the longer we talk. She points out “This really monotonous new existence York is very romanticised; it’s the subject a number of times that she’s not a is so different to my normal routine of of movies. But I’d say, honestly, having professional swimmer - which is true. travelling and seeing wonderful places.” been here for 20 years, it’s everything it’s Aside from swimming, she’s a normal The disruption to travel may have cracked up to be and more. person working a demanding job in tabled her ambitions outside of the US, New York who has been affected by the but it has not stopped Monahan from Your first swim post-lockdown was pandemic just the same as anyone else. adding to her long list of incredible the Rose Pitonof swim. What is it Although if you’re any follower of achievements in the world of marathon about the event that is so meaningful marathon swimming, you will be aware swimming. When I catch up with to New Yorkers? that there is nothing ordinary about her, she has just added an insane In 1904, in New York, we had a really her achievements in the sport. In what feat to her roster: completing seven large incident where a passenger boat is now a long list of accomplishments, circumnavigations of Manhattan in called The PS General Slocum sank Monahan most notably holds the seven days – a total of 199 miles of and over 1000 people – mostly women world record for the fastest double swimming in just one week. and children – drowned 50 metres circumnavigation of Manhattan, has The following weekend, I then from shore, just because they had never completed the Triple Crown of Open hear the news that she has swam an learned to swim. After that, there was Water Swimming, last year completed unprecedented four times around a push for swimming as a safety skill. six marathon swims on six continents Manhattan non-stop – a colossal 45- Women like Rose Pitonof and Gertrude in 16 days, and is an inductee in both hour 24-minute swim and a Ederle all came up in the wake of the the International Marathon Swimming world-first. disaster. Rose, a 17-year-old girl at the 24 OCTOBER 2020 | Outdoor Swimmer outdoorswimmer.com INTERVIEW time, swam the Boston Light swim. She was the only one who finished, beating all the men. The next year she came to New York and swam 17 miles from Manhattan to Coney Island. It was such a sensation. A couple years after I swam the English Channel I read about this local athlete, Deanne Draeger, who found out about Rose and wanted to swim in her footsteps. She organised a solo swim for herself to honour Rose. The following year, she formed an amazing organisation called URBANSWIM and opened it up for other swimmers to come and celebrate, too. This year, due to COVID they invited me to be the only swimmer to do the route and celebrate the swim. It wasn’t ideal. I would have loved to have a big group together for the 10th anniversary celebrating Rose, but I still really loved it. In light of the circumstances, I was really honoured that they asked me to continue the tradition. I ALWAYS HEAR What’s it been like not being able to THE OLD JAY-Z travel and swim? It’s been really strange. In my “other SONG EMPIRE STATE life” I do cold water swimming. There’s OF MIND IN MY a circuit that we travel all around the world and it gives a cadence to my HEAD WHEN I SEE life. Especially in the early months of THE MANHATTAN quarantine, the only thing I was doing besides working at my desk was maybe SKYLINE FRAMED a walk by the river or a trip to the THROUGH grocery store. It made me appreciate how good life normally is. Of course, THE GEORGE in the grand scheme of things we were WASHINGTON fortunate not to fall ill or unemployed. But compared to my normal routine of BRIDGE. I JUST travelling and seeing wonderful places, GET A LIFT IN MY this was very different. HEARTBEAT. IT You appear to have made the most NEVER CEASES TO of a bad situation. Talk me through that insane challenge of swimming THRILL ME around Manhattan seven times in seven days and how it came about. This was kind of an audacious project. ➜ We learned that we would be able Photo credit: Sophy Holland outdoorswimmer.com Outdoor Swimmer | OCTOBER 2020 25 INTERVIEW ➜ to swim again at the end of July. I song Empire State of Mind when I see I have times when I’m working hard, have a personal project called The the skyline framed with the bridge. I only sleeping a few hours a night, or Monahan makes Mannahatta Project. Currently here just get a lift in my heartbeat. It never have to pull an all-nighter for work, her way past the in New York, a very big inspiration ceases to thrill me every single time. It’s it’s a different kind of training because One World Trade of mine is this delightful and so funny. the experience comes in handy for Center during her impressive woman called Julie Ridge marathon swims which are more record-breaking Quadruple and she was the original “Queen You have broken so many records in than 24 hours. Manhattan Swim of Manhattan Island” with twelve your marathon and ice swimming swims of Manhattan. She was also career. Does breaking records You have recently featured in the the first person in the world to do a motivate you, or are you driven by book Strong Like Her. What does it double Manhattan circumnavigation. your love for open water swimming mean to you to and how important is Kris Rutford from Nebraska is an and travelling? the history of marathon swimming accomplished athlete who has been I feel passionate about the experience in your open water pursuits? doing a Manhattan swim every year itself as opposed to records. I get It’s been a huge honour for me to be since basically the late eighties, which excited about things that haven’t been included with many of my historic is so wild, and over the years he has done before or things that are unusual heroines, and Haley, the writer, is just actually done 23 different swims. These or inspiring to me. I’ve been lucky that amazing. I didn’t tell her that story of are people I look up to for their love of a couple of times the things that I have The PS General Slocum, but that was New York City and this swim. This is a decided to do have been records, but something that she had researched swim that I could do every day because I don’t think I could stay motivated if on her own and it resonated with me the landscape is always different.