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NEW YORK -- A young open-water swimmer with ties to the Salem area is making quite the impact.
Erica Esterly, a third-year cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, completed a 57-mile swim on August 11th during the 40 Bridges Race around Manhattan.
Esterly, 20 of Scottsdale, Arizona, began the swim in the morning of August 10that approximately 10:05 am and completed it in 19 hours and 49 minutes early in the morning of August 11th. Erica's time represents the fastest female swim on record.
Of the 16 people to complete the 40 Bridges Race, sponsored by sponsored by New York Open Water (NYOW), Esterly iwas the youngest by 16 years. The event involves two laps around Manhattan Island. Two world class open-water swimmers, Mayra Santos from Portugal, and Antonio Arguelles from Mexico, also completed the event. A member of the Army West Point Swim and Dive Team, Esterly successfully finished NYOW's 20 Bridges Race --28.5 miles and one lap around Manhattan -- in September 2021 in 7:39 hours.
Erica's grandparents, Richard and Penny (Hess) Esterly were born and raised in Salem. Erica has many cousins, aunts, a uncle and two great, great aunts -- Ruth Knecht and Helen Maple -- in Salem and surrounding area.
Esterly's love of open water swimming and determination to finish the race helped her focus despite the grueling event. She beat her 20 Bridges Race split time in the 40 Bridges Race by 20 minutes. She then had to contend against a strong current for the next few hours.
She depended on her mental and physical toughness to finish the 57-mile, counter-clockwise swim around Manhattan on Wednesday and Thursday. She also relied on her crew, consisting of her parents and younger brother, to prepare the hydration and nourishment that her kayaker provided to her every 40 minutes during the 19-hour swim.
In addition to her West Point studies and collegiate swimming, Esterly is also a member of a local Arizona chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a women's service organization whose members trace their lineage to a Patriot of the American Revolution.
Starting today, Erica was scheduled to swim the Catalina Channel, from Catalina Island to Point Vicente, California, a race known for its mental toughness with its midnight start. Her ultimate goal is to be the youngest person to complete the Oceans Seven, a marathon swimming challenge consisting of seven open water channel swims. Devised in 2008 as the swimming equivalent of the Seven Summits mountaineering challenge, it includes the North Channel, the Cook Strait, the Molokai Channel, English Channel, the Catalina Channel, the Tsugaru Strait and the Strait of Gibraltar.