Sarah Thomas on Crew, Quitting, and What Lake Powell Taught Her…

When I was on a work trip in 2019 years ago, I stayed up most of the night watching a dot move across a screen. Not a movie. Not a game. One dot, moving at around 1.4 miles an hour, somewhere in the English Channel. That dot was Sarah Thomas, and she was in the middle of becoming the first human being in recorded history to swim the English Channel four consecutive times without stopping.

I couldn't stop watching. I don't think anyone who knew what was happening could.

So when I got the chance to sit down with Sarah for the first episode of Going Long, our new interview series here at Beyond The Breakers, I wanted to go past the records. The records are real and they're extraordinary. But what I really wanted to understand was what happens inside a swim like that — the doubt, the pain, the moment you want to stop — and what you do with it.

Who is sarah thomas?

Sarah Thomas is an American open water marathon swimmer and coach. In 2017, she became the first person to swim over 100 miles in a single continuous open water swim, crossing 104.6 miles of Lake Champlain in upstate New York. Two years later, in September 2019, she became the first and only person in history to swim the English Channel four consecutive times without stopping, which was about 84 miles of swimming that took just over 54 hours.

She's also the first person to complete a double North Channel, the crossing between Northern Ireland and Scotland, considered one of the toughest stretches of open water in the world. She didn't bring any of this up unprompted. When I asked for the 30-second elevator pitch, she smiled and said she's mostly known for "swimming far, not necessarily fast."

The Swim That Changed Everything

I asked Sarah which swim she'd pick as her favorite. She didn't hesitate: Lake Powell.

Not because it was the longest or the fastest, but because Lake Powell was the first time she stood on a boat ramp and genuinely didn't know if she was going to finish.

"I had to really work hard for it and push through mentally and physically. But also it was just beautiful. One of the most beautiful scenery swims I've ever done. The first night there were shooting stars, the rock canyon formations. You just can't beat that landscape."

She was aiming to swim 80 miles through one of this remote stretch of water in the American Southwest. There was no precedent. No one to call who'd done it. That uncertainty is what made it a turning point.

"It was the first time I walked into the water and really didn't know if I was going to be able to finish. There was so much going into that swim — who knows? We just have to see."

About 30 hours in, the longest she'd ever swum at that point, she hit a wall. She was cold. The wind had been in her face for hours. She was tired and miserable and done. She took her goggles off and told her crew she was finished.

Her sister looked at her and said: put your goggles on and swim another 30 minutes.

She did and she finished.

The Most Important Lesson in Open Water Swimming

What Sarah took from that moment has become a part of how she swims and how she coaches. It’s something most newer open water swimmers get wrong.

Talk to your crew.

"They didn't know I was upset. I just kept it all inside. Until I told them what was going on, they couldn't help me. The second I said I was cold, that I was hungry, that the wind was demoralizing. They were able to give me something different to eat. Give me an update on the wind forecast. All of those things I was spiraling about in my own head. If I'd said something hours earlier, they could have helped me hours earlier."

She said she used to try not to burden on her crew. She knew they were working hard, so she didn't want to add to it. But that instinct was wrong.

"I always say this: I have the easy job. At the end of the day, I'm just in the water, spinning my arms in a circle. My crew has to do everything else — the navigation, the problem solving, keeping me safe. That's a much harder job."

The lesson isn't just for marathon swimmers. It's for anyone who's ever tried to push through something hard alone, out of pride or stubbornness or the idea that needing help is a weakness. Your crew is there for a reason, let them do their job!

What She's Bringing to Beyond The Breakers 2026

Sarah is returning to Beyond The Breakers this November.

She and Elaine Howley will close out the event together in a fireside chat called First Ladies. Elaine was on Sarah’s crew on the four-way English Channel crossing. She was on the boat for all 54 hours, managing the turns, safety swimming in the dark, and handling the global media attention that followed the finish. She is also a two-time Buck Dawson Author's Award winner from the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the Vice President of the Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association.

"We're going to focus on being the first," Sarah said. "Being the first to do a swim, being the first to crew on some swims. Elaine has been with me on a lot of adventures. I think it'll be a fun conversation and hopefully people can learn a lot about mindset and how to be a good crew member."

The session isn't just for elite marathon swimmers. Sarah was clear about that. She said the mindset required to attempt your first 5K open water swim and the mindset required to push the boundaries of what's physically possible are, at their core, the same mindset.

"In some ways it doesn't matter if you're doing your own first 5K open water swim or you're pushing the limits of your own ability. Both of those things are very scary and very hard and they take a very similar mindset. There's something people can take away from that conversation no matter where you're at in your swim journey."

What She Said About Last Year

BTB 2026 will be Sarah's second year at the event. When I asked what surprised her about her first time at Beyond The Breakers, she laughed and said she hadn't expected to walk away having learned much, not after decades in the sport.

"Every single session I sat in on was super interesting and really valuable. There was a big scope of things you could go and learn and take away from. There was something for everyone, no matter where you were at in your swim journey."

She specifically called out Dan Daly's strength and conditioning session as one that stuck with her.

One Reason to Show Up

I asked Sarah for one reason someone watching should buy a ticket to Beyond The Breakers this November.

She gave me more than one.

"It's an amazing event. Really good people. You will definitely learn something. The open water community is just an amazing community. Being able to come to an event in person with a whole bunch of different people in the room is just an incredible opportunity that everyone should come and take advantage of — because it's really cool. You don't get to do that very often."

She's right. You don't.

There's something in that room for you. Whether you've been swimming for six months or sixty years.

Get Your Tickets!

Going Long With Sarah Thomas