AP Credits 'First Woman to Swim Atlantic' for Impossible 2,100-mile, 25-day Crossing

Newsbusters ^ | February 11, 2009 - 23:40 ET | Tom Blumer

[chuck_the_tv_out]

Well, this sports feat is one for the record books.

Not as a legitimate accomplishment, mind you. No, this story is a leading candidate to win the "Biggest Sports Hoax Ever Swallowed by a Wire Service" prize.

Danica Coto of the Associated Press got duped into believing that 56 year-old Jennifer Figge had completed a 2,100-mile swim across the Atlantic Ocean in a jaw-dropping 25 days [..] Chris Chase at the Fourth-Place Medal sports blog pointed out earlier today that there were just a few problems with the story:

..... Cape Verde is at least 2,400 miles, not 2,100, from Trinidad. And the African islands are about 500 miles off the western coast of the continent, meaning Figge had a huge head start on her trip across the Atlantic. (It'd be like somebody saying they ran across America after starting in Cincinnati.)

Those are trivial though. The real issue stemmed from the fact that swimming 2,100 miles in 25 days is impossible. (Some newspapers picked up on this.) It's infinitely more impossible when somebody only spends 21 minutes swimming during one of those 25 days. Michael Phelps swimming his fastest would take about 20 days to cover that distance. And that's his fastest pace, sustained for three weeks, without ever stopping. Impossible.

Yet, somehow, the AP ran the story even though a few seconds of thought and a pocket calculator was enough to disprove it.

[MARTIAL MONK]

Maff is hard.

[chemicalman]

Michael Phelps swimming his fastest would take about 20 days to cover that distance.

Depends on how many doobs he had.

[GOPyouth]

About on par with this news ticker in 2003.

[This_far]

AP = anonymous person

[Rennes Templar]

Comes out to 84 miles per day. At 12 hours per day, that’s 7 miles per hour. Actually one could do it, but ones arms and legs would get very tired.

[MARTIAL MONK]

And if there was a shark behind you, you could walk it easily.

[FormerACLUmember]

They don’t call it Ass Press for nothing.

The Associated Press has no credibility.

They simply make the “news” up, from the that massive fraud Obama to their alleged cross Atlantic Ocean swim.

[FormerACLUmember]

Exclusive AP photo of their cross Atlantic swimmer:

How stupid can they be?

[ffff]

AP....
ASS-OCIATED PUTZES...

BWAHAHAAHAHAAAAH

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

[Swordmaker]

Paging Rosy Ruiz. Paging Rosy Ruiz. Your taxi, er, boat is sailing...

[Neidermeyer]

Comes out to 84 miles per day. At 12 hours per day, that’s 7 miles per hour.
*******************************************************
Obviously she picked a latitude where the currents would be with her ,, what speed are the currents on her path?

[Real Cynic No More]

Even 2100 miles is out of the question. 2100 miles in 25 days with 24 hours in each day is 3.5 miles per hour. Noboby can even fastwalk at that rate for an extended period of time; and what about rest/sleep breaks? This claim is clearly bogus.

I do think it's still a world record, because I don't think anyone else has ever been towed in a shark cage that distance before.

[A.A. Cunningham]

[SunkenCiv]

Note: this topic is from February 11, 2009. Associated Press doesn't like having its stories reprinted for good reason:

Well, this sports feat is one for the record books. Not as a legitimate accomplishment, mind you. No, this story is a leading candidate to win the "Biggest Sports Hoax Ever Swallowed by a Wire Service" prize. Danica Coto of the Associated Press got duped into believing that 56 year-old Jennifer Figge had completed a 2,100-mile swim across the Atlantic Ocean in a jaw-dropping 25 days... Yet, somehow, the AP ran the story even though a few seconds of thought and a pocket calculator was enough to disprove it.