Girl power! Rivard sisters make history at Massawippi
The Fifth Annual 9-mile swim on Lac Massawippi took place on 14 August 2017. Out of a field of eleven swimmers, 13-year-old Vera Rivard finished first among the women, and first overall, with a blistering time of 4 hrs 10 min and 14 secs. In doing so, she fended off Cynthia Werhane, 48, by 9 minutes. Vera’s younger sister, Margaret Rivard, age 10, finished third with a time of 4:47:21. Last year, Vera became the youngest swimmer to swim the length of the lake, at age 12. This year 10-year-old Margaret became the youngest.
Margaret Rivard at the wall
The Massawippi Swim is part of the NEK Swim Week, featuring swims on eight lakes totalling 46 miles over the course of nine days. The Rivard sisters swam all eight days and at least 46 miles.
The NEK Swim Week is organised and hosted by the Northeast Kingdom Open Water Swimming Association and Kingdom Games.
Jonathan Cowie
Jonathan is a year-round skins swimmer with a particular love of very cold water. He has competed in ice swimming competitions around the world. He is a qualified open water coach with a particular love of introducing new swimmers to the open water.
