Episode 6: Leslie Hamilton: Staten Island and Lake Norman

In 2023, Leslie Hamilton became the first woman to swim around Staten Island, and in 2025 completed an unprecedented crossing of the 26.3 mile length of Lake Norman. She likes to tackle swims that make her feel “a little crazy”, ventures off the beaten path, has nothing to prove and everything to love about this sport.

Internally driven by a passionate sense of adventure and insatiably hunger for challenge, we discussed growing up within New York Open Water, how she chooses her swims (spoiler alert, they aren’t on a list), swimming sans-top around Staten Island, and the challenges of swimming long distances in warm water.

00:00 Introducing Leslie Hamilton

02:03 Growing up in NYOW

05:10 Planning the Staten Island Swim

08:16 Media Attention and the New Yorker Article

14:37 Swimming in Potentially Polluted Waters

19:30 What Makes an Adventure in Ultraswimming

22:59 You Can't Repeat the Same Swim Twice

24:52 Envisioning the Lake Norman Swim

26:51 The 24-Hour Swim Goal

29:36 Measuring Routes in the MSF Member Portal