Michelle Davidson (born 1970), is a U.S. Masters Swimmer and a long distance,

open water swimmer Open water swimming is a swimming discipline which takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, lakes, and rivers. The beginning of the modern age of open water swimming is sometimes taken to be May 3, 1810, when Lord Byron swam s ...

. She is one of only 84 swimmers in the world who have ever accomplished the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, which includes crossing the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

and Catalina Channel, and circumnavigating

Manhattan Island Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Swimming

Born in 1970, Davidson grew up in the Oakhurst section of Ocean Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, and graduated in 1989 from

Ocean Township High School Ocean Township High School (OTHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in the Oakhurst section of Ocean Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school in the Ocean Township ...

, where she was captain of the swimming team. She has been a resident of the Ocean Grove section of Neptune Township, New Jersey, and is employed as a teacher at Holmdel High School. She is one of only 84 swimmers in the world who have ever accomplished the Triple Crown of swimming. Either individually, or with her swimming partner Nancy Steadman Martin, she has made seven long distance swims between the years 2000 and 2010. These include: :* Swimming across the English Channel in 2004 in 13 hours 45 minutes, :* Swimming around the island of Manhattan in 2000, 2003 and 2007, :* Swimming southern California's Catalina Channel :* Completing the 22 mile Ederle Swim from Battery Park, NY to

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...

, NJ in 2006 and 2010. While known primarily for her long distance swims, she has been named to the

U.S. Masters Swimming U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS), founded in 1970, is a nonprofit membership national governing body for masters swimming, an organized program of swimming for adults. The program began when the first National Masters Swimming Championships were held ...

's list of All Americans on three occasions, having posted the fastest time in an event/age group in at least one of the organization's three official courses. Since 2003, Davidson has competed in 144 U.S. Masters Swimming short course events, winning 73 of these competitions (51%).

Other sports

In addition to swimming, Davidson is world class paddle boarder who in 2004, was a member of a relay team that paddled from

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

; has run five marathons in five states; competed in an

Ironman Iron Man, Ironman or Ironmen may refer to: *Nathaniel "Iron Man" Avery (1939–1985), American caddie for Arnold Palmer *Travis Fulton (1977–2021), American mixed martial arts fighter *Gunnar Graps (1951–2004), Estonian musician *Mick Murphy ...

competition; and has won the U.S. Lifeguard Association's "Run-Swim-Run" and Iron Woman competition. Davidson was an Ocean Grove lifeguard for 26 years and the lifeguard manager for the 15 years. March 28, 2016, Davidson and long time swim partner, Nancy Steadman Martin swam from Lani Island to

Maui Island The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, whic ...

Hawaii the new record setting time: 5 hours 5 minutes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Michelle 1970 births Living people American female swimmers English Channel swimmers Paddleboarders People from Neptune Township, New Jersey People from Ocean Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey Ocean Township High School alumni Sportspeople from Monmouth County, New Jersey Swimmers from New Jersey Manhattan Island swimmers 21st-century American sportswomen