Legendary Swimmer to Speak at UCSD

Lynne Cox, the legendary athlete who at age 16 broke English Channel swim records and was the first person to swim the Straits of Magellan, will speak at 2 p.m. on Thursday in the Geisel Library Seuss Room. The event is free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale and signing.

Cox, author of the recent book "Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer," will discuss her "impossible dreams" and her determination to see them come true. Among Cox's accomplishments as a swimmer: At 14, she broke the men's world record for swimming the 20-mile channel from Catalina Island to the California coast. At 15 and 16, she broke both men's and women's world records for swimming the English Channel. At 18, she swam the 16-mile Cook Strait between the north and south Islands of New Zealand. She was the first to swim the Straits of Magellan, in 44-degree water, the most treacherous 15-mile stretch of water in the world. She was the first to swim the 32-degree waters of Antarctica and swam more than a mile without a wetsuit.

Cox has been named Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year and a Glamour magazine Woman of the Year. She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2000 and has been honored with a lifetime achievement award from the University of California, Santa Barbara. This event is co-hosted by the UCSD Libraries Human Resources and Friends of the UCSD Libraries.