Waltham coach swims English Channel
Elaine Kornbau Howley of Waltham successfully swam the English Channel Monday in 13 hours and 35 minutes, completing her ‘‘Triple Crown’’ of open water marathon swimming.
An assistant girls’ swimming coach at Wellesley High, the 31-year-old hit the water in Folkestone, England around 9 a.m. and reached the coast of France sometime before 11 p.m.
She had previously completed a marathon swim last fall in the Catalina Channel in California and again last June around Manhattan Island.
‘‘It was warm and sunny the whole way,’’ Howley reported via her blog from England, ‘‘although the water was a little choppy at the start.’’ Aside from a couple of jellyfish ‘‘ stingers’’ it was a smooth swim for Howley,who added that her peers back home helped inspire her.
‘‘I couldn’t bear to come home and tell you all I hadn’t made it, so I just did it,’’ she wrote after her official 21-mile crossing that according to one crew member unofficially exceeded 30 miles after factoring in the conditions, the guide boat’s navigation and the tides.
‘‘Right now, I’ll go take a (well deserved) nap,’’ was Howley’s final comment.
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