Katie Spotz breaks transatlantic rowing record

Photo: Paulo Brandão

At 22 years old, most people are balancing a rigorous college schedule or trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives. Not Katie Spotz.

On January 3, 2010, Spotz set her row boat in the Atlantic Ocean and pushed off from Dakar, Senegal. She ended her journey Sunday, March 14, in Georgetown, Guyana. The whole trip took 70 days, 5 hours and 22 minutes.

Throughout the trip, Spotz mingled with a variety of fish and sharks, fought fatigue and sleep deprivation, battled equipment malfunctions and kept time by the sun.

Spotz’s goal was to raise money $75,000 for Blue Planet Run Foundation, a non-profit organization that raises money for safe drinking water projects around the world.

Spotz was the first person to swim the entire length of the 325-mile Allegheny River, finished first in her age group in a half ironman triathlon and completed the 62-mile Oxfam Trail Run, an ultramarathon held in Melbourne, Australia. She’s also run 150 miles self-supported across the Mojave and Colorado Deserts and cycled 3,300 miles across the United States from Seattle to Washington, D.C.

Community Connection:

Read more about Spotz’s epic rowing journey in her blog archives

For an interview with another young ocean adventurer, check out Jessica Watson, 16, Youngest Person to Sail Around the World Solo, on Matador Sports.