IISA Member Bio

IISA Member Bio
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Elaine K Howley
United States
Boston
United States
United States
Country Association
United States
IISA ID: 28
Gender: Female
Age: 45
Ice Miles: 2
ICE 7s: 1
About Elaine K Howley
ELAINE HOWLEY is a former Division I collegiate swimmer and ocean lifeguard who began competing in long-distance open water events in 2006 on a dare and hasn’t looked back since. A New Jersey native who’s called Greater Boston home since 2001, Elaine has amassed a long list of open water achievements since her first event, the 8-mile Boston Light Swim in 2006. In 2009, Elaine became the 32nd person to complete the Triple Crown of open water swimming, which includes the English Channel, the Catalina Channel, and the around Manhattan Island Marathon Swim. She is the current co-record-holder for the fastest double crossing of the Boston Harbor, and holds the record for the longest swim by a woman in Narragansett Bay. She is also the first person to complete a solo crossing of the 32.2-mile long Lake Pend Oreille in northern Idaho. She completed that swim in 20 hours, 25 minutes on July 31, 2014. In August 2015, she swam the 22.2-mile length of Loch Ness in Scotland in 13:21 (but did not spy the monster). In July 2016, she completed a solo crossing of Lake Tahoe, a 21.5-mile swim at 6,200 feet altitude in 15:27.

When she’s not swimming, Elaine is a freelance writer and editor based in Boston. A frequent contributor to U.S. News & World Report\'s Health site, SWIMMER magazine, AARP.org, and Outdoor Swimmer magazine, her work has also appeared in Triathlete magazine, Atlas Obscura, Mushing magazine and many other publications and websites.

Elaine graduated from Georgetown University in 2000 with a bachelor of science degree in language (German) and a second major in studio art. After graduation, she joined the Peace Corps, serving in Chernihiv, Ukraine as an English teacher. She earned her master of arts degree in publishing and writing from Emerson College in 2006 while working full-time as a technical writer and book editor.

Ice Miles

  Swim Date Swim
Location		 Water
Temp		 Wind
Chill		 Swim
Dist.		 Swim
Time		 Body of
Water		 Altitude (m)
GPS Latitude		    
1 8 Dec 2012 Boston Harbour, USA 5.00°C 0.00°C 1.0300mi 0:29:18 Open Water 42.34°N view
2 19 Feb 2023 Pleasure Bay, South Boston,... 4.17°C 4.10°C 1.0200mi 0:34:53 Enclosed Bay 0m  42.33°N view

IISA 1km Swims

Only IISA Swims <= 5.0°C
  Swim
Date		 Event Name Country
Association		 Event Venue Swim
Time		 Water
Temp		 Wind
Chill		 Altitude (m)
GPS Latitude		 AR ER WR WC    
1 6 Jan 2017 2nd Ice Swimming Aqua ... Germany Burghausen, Bavaria 18:36.58 3.40°C -11.10°C           PDF Icon view
AR = Age-Group Record
ER = Swim Event Record
WR = World Record
WC = World Championship Record

Qualifying Swims

IISA Qualifying Swims & IISA Event Swims > 5.0°C
  Swim
Date		 Swim
Location		 Event Name Swim
Distance		 Stroke Status Water
Temp		 Wind
Chill		 Swim
Time		 Observer  
1 29 Jan 2023 Pleasure Bay, South... 1100m Crawl Accepted 4.38°C 6.40°C 23:01.34 Martha Wood view

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