Meet The Competitors of the Eleventh Annual 24 Mile Tampa Bay Marathon Swim

United States of America (Press Release) April 6, 2008 -- CLEARWATER, FL-- A strong international field of Masters Swimmers will assemble for the Eleventh Annual Tampa Bay Marathon Swim on Saturday, April 19th, 2008. The 24 mile ultra-distance swim race starts at 7:00am from the Sunshine Skyway at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort (800 227 8045) and ends at Ben T. Davis Beach on the Courtney Campbell Causeway. The race course covers the entire length of Tampa Bay and is held each year to celebrate Earth Day and the revitalization of Florida's largest estuary.

The top ranked entry for this year's event is Penny Palfrey, 45, from Queensland, Australia, who is one of the world's best known marathon swimmers. In 2007, she was the overall winner at the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in New York, NY (28.5 miles), the South Head Roughwater Swim in Sydney, Aus. (11k), the Sri Chinmoy National Capital Swim in Canberra, Aus. (8k), and was the women's champion at the Rottnest Channel Swim in Perth, Aus. (20k). Also in 2007, she received the gold medal for the year's fastest swim across the English Channel (9 hours, 7 minutes), awarded by the Channel Swimming Association.

Since this event was first staged in 1998, it has drawn competitors from across the United States, Great Britain, Guatamala, Italy, Australia, Dominican Republic, Guatamala, Germany, India, Canada, and the Cayman Islands. Fourty swimmers will compete in this year's event, swimming as soloists or as a part of a relay team. Here are the nine individual swimmers and the ten relay teams that will compete for honors:

Solo Swimmers - Name, Age/Sex, Hometown
Penny Palfrey, 45F, Aitkenvale, Queensland, Australia
Dan Richards, 51M, Arlington, TN, USA
Jose Serra, 34M, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Paolo Chiarino, 41M, Cremella, Italy
Samantha Simon, 18F, Janesville, WI, USA
Chris Palfrey, 50M, Aitkenvale, Queensland, Australia
Kim Plewa, 25F, Rahway, NJ, USA
Flavia Zappa, 41F, Bradenton, FL, USA

Relay Teams

Rip Tide - Tim Kennedy, 51M, St. Petersburg, FL; Brian Rimel, 41M, St. Petersburg, FL

Team Hammerhead - Bill Korey, 44M, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; David LeClair, 40M, Boca Raton, FL; Larry Caldwell; 43M, Oakland Park, FL; Dan Boyle, 42M, New York, NY; Dale LeClair, 38M, Boca Raton, FL; Andrea Woodburn, 44F, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Tampa Bay Aquatic Club - Tom Rawls, 40M, Tampa, FL; Joe Solak, 43M, Tampa, FL; Bart Cobb, 53M, Tampa, FL,

Team McClusky - Orin McCluskey, 57M, New York NY; Mandy Miller, 46F, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Team Chum - Pat Marzulli, 59M, Indian Rocks Beach, FL; Bob Aldrich, 59M, St. Petersburg, FL; Chris Burke, 45M, St. Petersburg, FL; David McCord, 59M, Largo, FL; John Cox, 73M, St. Petersburg, FL

Dos Conquistadores de Brooklyn - Cristian Vergara, 49M, Brooklyn, NY; Jonathan Farber, 41M, Brooklyn, NY

North Baltimore Aquatic Club - Gil Mandel, 41M, Baltimore, MD; Suzanne Gedney, 39F, Lutherville, MD; Wendy Quitasol, 45F, Baltimore, MD; Todd Hetzer, 36M, New Freedom, PA; Scott Breza, 37M, Phoenix, MD; Polly Surhoff, 43F, Cockeysville, MD

Miles to Go - Lori Carena, 54F, Brooklyn, NY; Willy Blumentals, 35M, North Bergen, NJ

The Tortoise and the Hare - Mike Tschante-Hahn, 40M, Chicago, IL; Abe de la Houssaye, 60M, New York, NY

Team Leisure Suits - John Humenik, 33M, New York, NY; Erica Moffett, 38F, New York, NY