Jennifer Figge
Ocean swimmer Jennifer Figge did not, it turns out, swim the entirety of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Associated Press, which originally reported the story, is now reporting a correction:
"In stories on Feb. 1, 7 and 8, about Jennifer Figge's long-distance swim in the Atlantic, The Associated Press reported erroneously that she had swum across the ocean. Figge swam only a fraction of the 2,100-mile journey. The rest of the time, she rested on her crew's westward-sailing catamaran. Her spokesman, David Higdon, told The AP on Tuesday that her total swimming distance has not been calculated yet, but that due to ocean hazards including inclement weather, he estimates she swam about 250 miles."
The original story by the AP said the 56-year-old Baby Boomer from Aspen, Colo., had swum about 2,100 miles from Cape Verde off the coast of Africa to Trinidad. It then corrected the distance to about 700 miles.
Now we're talking 250 miles ... maybe.
The problem was in the math -- it just didn't make sense that she could swim the distances being claimed in the 24 days of the trip and the time she told the AP she spent in the water -- a maximum of eight hours, a minimum of 21 minutes.
By doing the math it clearly became evident that she would not be capable of swimming that fast and that her forward progress was being helped by the sailboat she was on during her periods of rest.
Her Facebook page does not contain any updates as to the correct distance she actually swam. Her most recent update refers to the AP's original distance of 2,100 miles.
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