Organizers of the first Charleston Trident Swim, a 4.1-mile swim around the Charleston peninsula, raised more than $106,000 this month to benefit the Navy SEALs Foundation, which assists active-duty or retired SEALs with education, job transitions and medical care.
The money will also benefit Gold Star families, who have lost “their SEAL during training or combat as they attempt to rebuild their lives,” said former Charleston City Council member Kathleen Wilson, the event’s co-director.
Forty-nine swimmers jumped into a chilly Cooper River earlier this month at the Charleston Maritime Center for a swim around the Charleston peninsula to Brittlebank Park on the Ashley River. A kayaker escorted each swimmer.
Some of the swimmers were former Navy SEALs while others were civilians, Wilson said. The swimmers were also a mix of Charleston residents and others from around the country and as far away as the West coast, she added.
The swim is the idea of Charleston resident Walt Leonard, a retired Spartanburg dentist who served as the event’s co-director, said Wilson. Because of the swim’s early success, the Navy SEAL Foundation said it plans to make the Charleston event part of its annual Frogman series of swims in Boston, Annapolis and Tampa, according to Wilson.
Wilson, who has competed in marathon swims around the world, including a 20.5 mile crossing of the English Channel in 2001.
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