By Keith Dunlap on SwimSwam
There is a new record holder for the “True Width” crossing of Lake Tahoe.
On August 5, Alex Kostich set a record on the 12-mile crossing, doing so in 4 hours, 28 minutes and 55 seconds.
The True Width course is the widest part of Lake Tahoe, spanning from Homewood on the west to Glenbrook on the east side.
Kostich broke the previous record of 4:43.10 established on Aug. 2, 2019, by Jorge Angel by nearly 15 minutes.
Kostich told openwaterswimming.com that a personal setback is what led him to perform the swim across Lake Tahoe.
“My husband left me in January after 26 years — he just abandoned the marriage after meeting someone else, and I haven’t heard from him since,” Kostich said. “So in an effort to heal and begin regaining my self-esteem, I picked 3-4 ‘pillars’ to achieve this year to help rebuild the foundation of my life. Swimming across Lake Tahoe’s true width was one of these pillars, something well outside my comfort zone which I thought could bring me joy and distraction, however temporary. That’s the honest answer. It was driven by my devastating loss and heartbreak.”
Accompanied by Lexie Kelly and observer Suzanne Heim-Bowen, the 55-year-old Kostich said he was concerned about the cold temperature of the water, but adrenaline and positive thinking carried him through.
“I told myself to be comfortable with being uncomfortable—and that mantra sort of stuck with me throughout the swim,” he said.
Kostich added he didn’t feel he prepared well enough for the swim, spending two weeks in Mongolia before going to Lake Tahoe.
“But a funny thing happened—Mongolia turned out to be the same altitude as Tahoe and I had plenty of pool and lake access there—so I was actually able to train some (I also ran a few 10k’s since pools were scarce in the Gobi desert!),” Kostich said. “The two weeks at altitude actually helped me, because I felt strong throughout the swim and I didn’t feel my pace or turnover was compromised very much.”
Kostich has been a pillar of open water swimming, winning the Waikiki Roughwater Swim three times (1994, 2002 and 2006) and doing a solo unassisted circumnavigation swim around Pitcairn Island in the Pacific Ocean.
Kostich was an All-American at Stanford in the early 1990s and won gold medals at the 1991 Pan American Games in the 400 individual medley and 1500 freestyle.
In July, Catherine Breed set an unofficial swimming record at Lake Tahoe, swimming 60.91 miles around the circumference of the lake over consecutive days.
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