Jon Erikson (September 6, 1954 – July 28, 2014) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

long distance swimmer who was the first of only three people to have ever completed a three way swim of the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. A physical education teacher at the time, he completed the swim in a time of 38 h 27 mins in 1981.
(1st leg – 10 h 10 mins, 2nd leg – 13 h 14 mins, 3rd leg – 15 h 03 mins) The only other individuals to have completed this feat are Philip Rush,

Alison Streeter Alison Jane Streeter Order of the British Empire, MBE is a British long-distance swimmer. Biography Streeter has swum across the English Channel 43 times, the most crossings done by an individual until surpassed by Chloe McCardel on 13 October ...

, Chloe McCardel and Sarah Thomas. Erikson also completed a two way crossing of the

in 1975 in a time of 30 h 00 mins and again in 1979 in a time of 22 h 16 mins. His total number of successful

swims stands at 11, spanning a period from 1969 to 1981. Erikson died of an infection on July 28, 2014 in

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. He was an inductee to the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

of that year.

References

External links

BBC News Article on Channel SwimmingOutdoor Swimmer Article on Multi-way Crossings of the English Channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erikson, Jon 1955 births 2014 deaths Swimmers from Chicago American male swimmers American male long-distance swimmers 20th-century American sportsmen English Channel swimmers International Swimming Hall of Fame inductees