For Immediate Release

Derks Repeats as Champion in Marathon Swim

CLEARWATER, April 23 --Chris Derks, 30, of Miami, Florida completed a "three-peat" performance, at The Fourth Annual 24 Mile Tampa Bay Marathon Swim on Saturday, April 21.   Having won the event in 1999, and 2000, he was able to cover the course in 9 hours and 4 minutes, to finish first out of a field of 21 individual swimmers.

The gruelling competition started at 8:30am at the Courtney Campbell Causeway, with swimmers attempting to swim to the Sunshine Skyway, a course that covers the entire length of Tampa Bay.   Swimmers fought an incoming tide for the first 5 hours, and were plagued by a 10-15 knot cross-wind that blew most swimmers and escort crews to the west of the optimal course.

The women's champion was Laura Borgelt, 28, of Denver, Colorado, who finished the course in 10 hours and 20 minutes. Her performance placed her second overall, despite having to overcome adversity, as some of her vital provisions were mistakenly left behind at the starting line.

In the 3-Person Relay Division, Los Gringos of Washington DC, captured the overall title, while The Bolles School Sharks of Jacksonville, FL were the first to complete the course swimming as a four-person team.

The results posted are believed to be true and accurate as of Monday, April 23. Due to inclement weather and impending darkness, some swimmers were forced to be removed from the water. Finishing points - Gandy Bridge (10 miles from start), St. Petersburg Pier (15 miles from start), and Pinellas Point (within 3 miles from finish line).

MEN RESULTS
(Place, Finish Time or Finish point, Swimmer, Home Town)

1. 9 hours, 4 minutes, 41 seconds - Chris Derks, 30, Miami, FL

2. 11 hours, 28 minutes, 20 seconds - David Boudreau, 42, Weston, FL

3. 11 hours, 38 minutes, 15 seconds - Ryan Woodruff, 20, Gainesville, FL

4. 11 hours, 51 minutes, 9 seconds - David Blanke, 41, Austin, TX

5. 12 hours, 12 minutes, 0 seconds - Dave Parcells 43, Madison, CT

6. 12 hours, 38 minutes, 0 seconds - Andrew Johnson, 35, Arlington, VA

7. Pinellas Point - Mark Lohnes, 35, Lincoln, NE

8. Pinellas Point - Gregg Cross, 45, Ft. Myers, FL

9. Pinellas Point - Gerry Teeven, 43, Coral Springs, FL

10. Pinellas Point - John Ceraolo, 40, Coral Springs, FL

11. St. Petersburg Pier - Dan Foster, 36, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

12. St. Petersburg Pier - Eric Shanks, 42, Lincoln, NE

13. Gandy Bridge - Chris Hutt, 21, Papillion, NE

14. Gandy Bridge - Joel Klemm, 28, Lincoln, NE

15. Gandy Bridge - Hal Clarendon,55, Gainesville, FL

16. Gandy Bridge - Dr. Konrad Euler, St. Petersburg, FL

17. St. Petersburg Pier - Robert Abcug, 31, Coral Springs, FL

WOMEN RESULTS
(Place, Time or Finish point, Swimmer, Home Town)

1. 10 hours, 20 minutes, 30 seconds - Laura Borgelt, 28, Denver, CO

2. Pinellas Point - Emily Watts, 33, Manchester, MD

3. St. Petersburg Pier - Sue Wilkinson-Megaw, 47, Fairfax, VA

4. Gandy Bridge - Allison Seldman, 24, Gainesville, FL

RELAY RESULTS
(Division (Place, Time or Finish point, Team member, Home Town)

1 Four-person USA - 8 hours, 45 minutes, 24 seconds - The Bolles School Sharks, Jacksonville, FL - Briley Bergen, 17, Annie Moore, 18, Brielle Adamovitch, 19, Cara Manlandro, 17

1. Three-person USA - 10 hours, 10 minutes, 26 seconds - Los Gringos, Washington DC - Denis Crean, 40, Sarn Brownell, 18, Guillermo Garcia, 14

1. Three-person USMS - 11 hours, 31 minutes, 2 seconds - Tampa Bay Aquatic Club, Tampa, FL - Joe Solak, 36, Carol Carter, 37, Tom Rawls, 33

2. Three-person USMS - 11 hours, 27 minutes, 20 seconds - United States Paralympic Veterans, Kendra Berner, 20, Davidson, NC, Trischa Zorn, 36, Indianapolis, IN, Dan Kelly, 24, Robbinsdale, MN

3. Three-person USMS - St. Petersburg Pier - KOWS, Julie Yamato, 32, San Francisco, CA, Wendy Woods, 36, Boston, MS, Russ Dagon, 34, Orlando, FL

The Tampa Bay Marathon Swim is presented by Distance Matters, Inc. SOURCE: Distance Matters, Inc More Information and News: On the WWW: DistanceMatters.com PHONE: 888-531-7803 FAX: 727-524-9399 Event Director Ron Collins:  [email protected] Copyright © 2001 Distance Matters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Republication or redistribution of Distance Matters, Inc. content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Distance Matters, Inc. Distance Matters, Inc. shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.