62-year-old 'mermaid' swims Lake Hamilton

The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen TAKING A BREATHER: Open-water swimmer Jan Gerber, 62, of Hot Springs, takes a short break during her long distance swim from the Highway 70 west bridge to the Highway 7 south bridge on Lake Hamilton Thursday. She completed the swim in just under four hours, a distance of approximately 3.25 miles.
The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen TAKING A BREATHER: Open-water swimmer Jan Gerber, 62, of Hot Springs, takes a short break during her long distance swim from the Highway 70 west bridge to the Highway 7 south bridge on Lake Hamilton Thursday. She completed the swim in just under four hours, a distance of approximately 3.25 miles.

She might not have actual gills, but the self-dubbed "Sunset Mermaid," also known as Jan Gerber of Hot Springs, gave real mermaids a run for their money Thursday morning when she swam Lake Hamilton from the Highway 70 west bridge to the Highway 7 south bridge in just under four hours.

Before bringing up the speed records of Olympic competitors like Michael Phelps for comparison, one should consider the fact Gerber is 62 years old with "arthritic knees, a former broken shoulder and a lifelong history of asthma" and had only started actively training for her "bucket list" goal since May this year.

A native of Wichita, Kan., Gerber said she has been swimming since she was 2 years old and became an "open-water swimmer" after moving to Hot Springs in 1990, one of the few, if not only, she has seen on Lake Hamilton since she started.

She calls herself the "Sunset Mermaid" because "sunset is my favorite time to swim" and she jokingly noted she believes she is descended from mermaids because of her lifelong love of the water.

She admitted she had no idea how far it was between the two bridges, only that "it's a pretty long swim." (It's approximately 3.25 miles, according to Google Earth). Putting into the water at 8:20 a.m., she completed her journey around 12:15 p.m., having only stopped three times for about five to 10 minutes each time to hydrate and for a quick snack of some power bars for energy.

As she swam the breast stroke with her head above water, wearing sunglasses and a pink fluorescent baseball cap, Gerber conversed easily with her "team," consisting of her high school friend, Melissa Stephens, who drove in from Wichita just for Gerber's swim, and Gordon "Butch" Pingel of Hot Springs, who followed alongside Gerber in a pontoon boat.

Gerber said her training consisted of long walks with her beagle, Baxter, going to yoga class five times a week and "lots and lots of swimming, at least two hours a day. I admit I should have been lifting weights too, but I prefer swimming."

She said her yoga classes "really helped me relax and get into my breathing better. When I take off on my own it helps me calm down and makes my joints more flexible."

About halfway through her swim, Gerber said she wasn't having any problems, noting the occasional muscle cramp would go away after a minute or two as she just kept going.

Gerber, a retired registered practical nurse, said she put herself through college teaching swimming and all four of her children are also avid swimmers, in addition to being distance runners and tennis players. "They grew up on the lake," she said.

She said she has occasionally been stopped by the Garland County Sheriff's Marine Patrol after they got calls from Lake Hamilton residents concerned about her.

"They know me now," she said, laughing. She said once she was wearing a straw hat as she swam and "I think they thought I was driftwood." She said she tries to stay close to shore and not swim in the main channel when the lake is busy.

Gerber had originally planned to make the swim on Labor Day and had been planning it for about a year, but after learning the weather might be bad that day she opted to do it Thursday, which proved a wise decision since there was very little boat traffic.

On the third leg of Gerber's swim, after her last break, Stephens said, "She's doing very well. She hasn't missed a beat, hasn't slowed down, hasn't complained. She's amazing."

Gerber, swimming along, said, "It's all about moving and talking," and Stephens replied, "She's really good at both of those." Stephens added, "You know, if a 62-year-old woman can do this, that should shame everyone else into doing something."

As the end of her journey came into sight, Gerber said, "I'm not even tired yet. I guess I trained enough." After finishing, climbing back into the boat, she said, "It feels awesome. The only way to do it is to imagine each little part of it as you go. I wasn't really tired at the end, but I don't think I could have gone another hour."

She said she would like to see an organized tourist event with multiple swimmers making the same swim, like a marathon run. "It could bring people in from all over. There are a lot of people out there who like to try something strange."

Gerber said there was "no way" she could have made the swim at the beginning of the summer and that her training really paid off.

"I just want to inspire people to swim. To exercise. To keep moving. It keeps you young."

Local on 09/04/2015

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