Update: Cooper Sever Completes 24 Hour Swim in Honor of Uncle Chris Wooten

At 6 pm on July 21, Cooper Sever jumped into the Eaman Park Pool in Salisbury, North Carolina with 2 goals: to swim 30 miles over the course of 24 hours for his uncle Chris Wooten. 

Wooten, a North Carolina State Trooper, was hit while riding on his motorcycle on July 22, 2019. The impact caused him to be thrown from the vehicle, which resulted in a life-threatening spinal cord injury. Wooten fought through the situation and was eventually transported to Shepherd Center in Atlanta, GA., where he would spend more than six months recovering.

Sever, a sixteen year old competitive swimmer decided to take up the task of completing the 24 hour swim in order to raise money for the Shepherd Center in his uncle’s honor. 

Swimming in cycles of 30 minutes in the water, 30 minutes rest, Sever completed the full 24 hours, while coming in just short of 30 miles.

The swim proved to be a difficult task as Sever recalls, “I was exhausted throughout the night because I didn’t get much sleep”, later saying he only got approximately 4 hours of sleep over the 24 hour span.

During the swim, Sever’s family helped him stay on course in the pool, “Around 2 am, my sister and a bunch of her friends threw a bunch of glow sticks into the pool, which was really cool.” As Cooper’s father and coach Michael Sever explained, “We knew that Cooper would hit a block around that time, so the glow sticks were important as they were a way to change up the environment for him.”

Outside of the pool, Sever took ice baths, hydrated, and took 10-15 minute naps. “His nutritional plan was primarily electrolytes…but he didn’t eat any solid food except for bananas and a pancake in the morning,” Michael Sever recalls.

At the end of the swim, friends and family joined in, watching Sever complete his final few laps, “During the last 100, we had about 8 additional people lined up who swam alongside Cooper to the last 15 meter mark, and then his sister swam to the wall next to him.”

Cooper recalls the finish, stating, “the ending was good, they had all of the little kids from my pool lined up with horns and confetti poppers. They then pelted me with confetti.”

Despite the ups and downs surrounding the swim, Cooper says he’s looking forward to trying to do the swim again next year.

Cooper Sever swims during the sunrise. Via Michael Sever, used with permission.

Cooper Sever at the beginning of his 24 hour swim. Via Michael Sever, used with permission.

Glow sticks light up the bottom of the pool during Cooper’s swim. Via Michael Sever, used with permission