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When she’s not working as a mechanical engineer for Siemens Energy in Fort Collins, Emily Lane ’07 is swimming, usually in the early morning hours. She finds it therapeutic and meditative. From a young age, Emily took an interest in the sport and swam competitively at Smith College. She discovered the world of open water swimming after two of her college teammates completed solo Channel crossings the summer before her freshman year. Since then, Emily has swum a 10K in the Hudson River in Manhattan (it’s a lot cleaner than you think), completed the 11-mile Portland Bridge Swim in the Willamette River, swum in several competitions in Fort Collins, and most recently, swam the English Channel as part of a seven-person relay. She and team started at 6:30pm in the evening and finished just shy of 12 hours later. She’s used to swimming in the dark and in cold water; for the English Channel, it was about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. She was only allowed to wear a standard swimsuit (nothing beyond the shoulders or knees). And there were jellyfish. But she loved every minute of it. Eventually, Emily would love to complete the “Triple Crown” of open water swims: Manhattan Island (28 miles); Catalina Channel (20 miles) and the English Channel (21 miles) all as a solo swimmer. Her next adventure? She has tentative plans to swim the length of Lake Tahoe this summer. Best of luck to you, Emily!