Article archive / December 2020
Originally published: . Volume 11, No. 12. Source pages: 13.
Lynne Cox is an open-water long-distance swimmer, a solitary, arduous sport in which the swimmer must persevere in the face numbingly cold water, treacherous ocean currents, exhaustion from many hours in the water, jellyfish stings, and sometimes visual hallucinations which develop over many hours of exertion. Toughness in some sports is described in terms of an athlete’s ability to dish out punishment, like a linebacker or boxer. In this sport, it is defined by the ability to sustain and persevere despite pain, cold, and exhaustion. By the mid-1970s Cox had made a sizable number of notable swims, including the first swim across the Cook Strait (separating the north and south islands of New Zealand), across the Straits of Magellan in Chile, and around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. However, by the 1980s her goals focused on global issues which alarmed her, particularly the Cold War. She pursued the idea of doing a swim between American and Soviet islands in the Aleutian chain, Little Diomede and Big Diomede, respectively. She thought this would call attention to the need for addressing issues peacefully at a time when the Cold War had become increasingly belligerent. Her letters to various ambassadors, diplomats, and a succession of Soviet leaders went unanswered. However, she made a connection with Armand Hammer, who knew someone at the Soviet consulate in San Francisco. So on the appointed date she took a notebook containing news accounts of her swims and walked into the Soviet consulate to pitch her idea. She subsequently got a call from the FBI. The agent who called her wanted to know why she went to the Soviet consulate, and had her come to the agency office for an interview. After numerous delays she finally made the swim, not particularly long (2.3 miles), but fraught with significance. And in 43-degree water with no wetsuit (a requirement in the sport). In part the delays were due to the Soviet bureaucracy, as the Soviet military did not share the enthusiasm the people in the Ministry of Sport had for her idea. At the signing of the INF Missle Treaty in Washington some time later, Gorbachov drank a toast to her. I found this book unique in its combination of almost naive idealism, dogged persistence, and courage in the face of political, logistical and athletic challenges. I was struck by the number of times she received unexpected assistance at critical moments from people she had never met before, and also by her appreciation of her benefactors. The passages describing her swims often had a lyrical, almost dreamlike quality, although the rigors of her sport—especially trying to warm up after swimming in bitterly cold waters— were also striking. Throughout her swim career Cox scrounged for funding for her swims. But her writing has a large-spiritedness which is heartening.
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