Inspiring Story: Megan Moynihan Discovers Open Water Swimming

After discovering a passion for swimming at age 60, Megan Moynihan and her five teammates will swim 22 miles across the English Channel to raise money for Aspire, a charity that supports people with spinal injuries. 

We talked with Megan, a Senior Planet reader, architect, and art advisor, while she was training for this impressive feat.

How did you first get into swimming?
About 10 years ago, around the time I turned 60, my husband and I took our grandson to the Y to learn how to swim. And we decided we wanted to learn too! We started doing triathlons together. Eventually my husband became an ultramarathoner and I focused on swimming. In the beginning, I had to rest at the wall for almost as long as it took me to swim the length of the pool.

What draws you to open water swimming?
There’s always a challenge – big waves, jellyfish, unexpected debris – you train yourself not to panic. 

For years, I was a person who made exercise a habit. I would run three or four times a week and do strength training at the gym. But just swimming in the pool gives you black-line boredom. Open water is always changing. And when you’re training for a big event, it motivates you to be disciplined and keep at it. 

“The most interesting part of getting to this level of swimming is that you’re going after something you don’t necessarily know you’re going to succeed at.”

Like how you are currently training to swim the English Channel! What’s that experience been like?
It’s taken me way out of my comfort zone, and I think that’s particularly important as we get older. The English Channel is a risk – we might not succeed. But to me, that is part of the fun and the challenge.     

Working with a relay team, I feel a real commitment to not letting the other people down. Because one person has to be taken out of the water, that’s it for the whole team. 

To be a channel swimmer, you don’t have to be super-fast. I’m not a fast swimmer! The biggest hurdle for me will be to pass the cold-water qualification test, which is on my 70th birthday. Our team will swim an hour and a half in Dover Harbor in water that is less than 60 degrees. We’ll warm up for an hour – and then get back in for another hour! 

What does aging with attitude mean to you?
It means taking on a challenge with no guarantee of success, and giving it my best shot.

Note: Due to weather issues, Megan was not able to swim with her team across the English Channel this year. She instead swam six miles from the Narrow River to the ocean with a group of other swimmers to celebrate her 70th birthday! She will be back in England in 2025 to complete the Channel crossing. 

Pam Hugi is Senior Planet’s Community and Advocacy Manager. Based in Brooklyn, she is a contributing writer for this site.