Jennifer Figge
Jennifer Figge is an American athlete from Aspen, Colorado. Born in Davenport, Iowa, Figge is the daughter of opera singer Margherita Roberti. In early 2009 for 24 days ending on February 5 she swam several sections of the Atlantic Ocean from the Cape Verde Islands off Africa to Chacachacare Island in Trinidad off Venezuela, spending much of the time in a shark cage while swimming up to 8 hours a day, battling strong winds and waves up to 30 feet. She had originally planned to swim to the Bahamas, but was blown off course.
Several major media outlets initially erroneously reported she swam the entire distance across the ocean. The claim was challenged by several sources, as mathematically, Figge would have had to swim over a day at about ten miles per hour – a physical impossibility. In an interview with the Associated Press, Figge said she "never intended to swim the Atlantic."
