Woman Swims Across the Atlantic, Fills National ‘Swimming Hero’ Void

A 56-year-old Colorado woman named Jennifer Figge just spent the last month swimming from Africa to a Caribbean island. She’s the first female to swim across the Atlantic, doing the trek in eight-hour spurts with rest and meals on-board an accompanying sailboat. I bet her hands are super wrinkled.↵↵⇥She saw a pod of pilot whales, several turtles, dozens of dolphins, plenty of Portuguese man-of-war — but no sharks. “I was never scared,” Figge said. “Looking back, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I can always swim in a pool.”↵↵She planned to land in the Bahamas, but instead came ashore on an island of Trinidad that has previously been used as a leper colony. (Those assumed-to-be-wrinkled hands could help her fit in.) No word on how many bong hits she ripped in honor of America’s last swimming hero, nor whether she regrets not taking a plane after getting her frequent flyer statement.↵