Becca Mann Aims To Become First Swimmer To Complete The Maui Nui Channel Swim

During the week of August 11th, two-time marathon swimming United States national champion Becca Mann will attempt to become the first swimmer to complete the Maui Nui Channel Swim. The triple swim stretches between the Hawai’ian islands of Maui, Molokai, and Lanai. The total length adds up to 63.79 kilometers (approximately 39.64 miles). Mann’s goal is to complete the swim in between 15 and 20 hours. The full route can be viewed below:

“Hawai’i is my favorite place on the planet. I spent a lot of time there growing up and remember taking the ferry from Maui to Lanai and thinking about the names in the display who had swum the ferry ride,” said Becca.

• Click here to see her GoFundMe page.

In 2008 at just 10 years old, Mann became the youngest swimmer to swim the Au’Au Channel. The swim stretches from Lanai to Maui.

Since then, Becca found her passion for the sport through marathon swimming. Her athletic resume includes two national champion titles in the Olympic event for marathon swimming, the 10-kilometer, besides finishing in the top 15 at an open water world championship in four occasions in the span of six years.

Mann’s first club team was the Academy Bullets Swim Club, located in Illinois. There, she holds many club team records in the 11-12 age group. Mann was homeschooled, allowing her to move to Clearwater in Florida to train with former U.S. Olympic Team coach Randy Reese at the Clearwater Aquatic Team.

A few years later, in 2011 at just 13 years of age, she was one of the youngest swimmers to qualify for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. Mann qualified in the 800 free, 400 IM, 400 free, and the 200 fly. While she did not make the Olympic Team, Mann finished 5th in the 800 free and the 400 IM, 6th in the 400 free, and 10th in the 200 fly.

Further, given her results at the 2012 U.S. Open Water National Championships, Mann was named to both the 2012-2013 U.S. Open Water Junior National Team and the 2012 Junior Pan Pac Team, which took place in Honolulu, Hawai’i. There, Mann won golds in the 10-kilometer marathon swim, the 400 IM, and the 1500 free, and a silver in the 800 free.

The year after, Mann was named onto the 2013-2014 U.S. National Team, and in August of 2013 competed at the 4th edition of the FINA World Junior Championships, winning gold in the 1500 free, silver in the 400 IM and 800 free, placing 4th in the 400 free, and 5th in the 200 fly.

Last August, Mann announced that she would turn pro, forgoing her final two seasons of NCAA competition for USC to focus on qualifying for next year’s Olympic Team in marathon swimming. The American swimmer is currently a student at USC’s screenwriting program. Though she has taken the year off from school to focus on her swimming career, Mann plans to return to cinema school in the future.

“This is something I have dreamed of for a very long time,” said Mann, who grew up in Hawaii.

To this day, only one swimmer, Harry Huffaker, has attempted to complete this swim. His story can be read here.

In order to achieve her goals, it would cost Mann approximately 10,000 U.S. dollars as she will need to fund all the swim operation, boats, paddlers, and management. Mann also indicated that “she would love to raise money for something good.”

In order to spread awareness of her intent to complete the Channel Swim, Becca shared a post yesterday through her Twitter page:

Please consider supporting my attempt to become the first person to swim the Maui Nui Triple Channel Swim, a 64 kilometer stretch from Maui to Molokai to Lanai back to Maui.https://t.co/KRXO3aE4Q6

— Becca Mann (@becca__mann) July 6, 2019

Her GoFundMe page can also be accessed here.