David Rich

NAME: David Rich

HOMETOWN: San Francisco, CA

WHY DID YOU SIGN UP FOR BLS? To swim the oldest open water marathon in the country. Too cool!

WHO IS YOUR PILOT AND CREW? Mike Murphy will be my pilot, and Noelle Rich will be my crew.

WHERE ARE YOU SWIMMING FOR YOUR BLS TRAINING? San Francisco Bay

SWIMMING FUN FACT: I just swam from Finland to Sweden across the Arctic Circle, and back in time. Finland is an hour ahead of Sweden. We started the race early Sunday morning in Finland and completed the swim Saturday before midnight in Sweden, the day before the race started (see my picture with the clock reads 11:45pm!

ANYTHING ELSE? I love meeting other adventurous open water swimmers who share the same passion!

Libby Phillips

NAME: Libby Phillips

HOMETOWN: South Boston, MA

WHAT’S YOUR PAST BLS EXPERIENCE? This is my first time competing in BLS and my longest swim to date!

WHO IS YOUR PILOT AND CREW? My crew includes my family, and my pilot is Captain Ronnie Mufano.

WHERE ARE YOU SWIMMING FOR YOUR BLS TRAINING? I swim regularly at Pleasure Bay and Carson Beach. I also trains at B/Spoke Studios in South Boston.

SWIMMING FUN FACT: I grew up swimming for the West Hartford Aquatic Team (WHAT) in Connecticut and competed in my very first open water mile with them at age 12 at Lake Quassapaug. I was a captain of the Conard High School Girls Swim Team in 2017. Later, I swam with the club team at Trinity College Dublin and played on the water polo club team at Columbia University.

ANYTHING ELSE? As a South Boston resident, I’m excited to "swim home" from the lighthouse right to my local beach!

Julian Vasilkoski

NAME: Julian Vasilkoski

HOMETOWN: Brookline, MA

WHAT’S YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH BLS? This is my first time doing BLS, but I volunteered with the land crew for the 2025 event.

WHY DID YOU SIGN UP FOR BLS? I love Boston and I love swimming. When I first learned about BLS I was motivated by the idea of swimming through the Harbor Islands, the history of the event, as well as the challenge, and it quickly made it's way to the top of my bucket list.

WHO IS YOUR PILOT AND CREW? My team will consist of Corey Briggs (Pilot) and my fiancée Amy Azzaro (Crew)

WHERE ARE YOU SWIMMING FOR YOUR BLS TRAINING? The YMCA in West Roxbury, the Curley Community Center, and I got to spend some time in Lake Ohrid in Macedonia.

SWIMMING FUN FACT: I have a very fond memory of (attempting) surfing in San Diego in the middle of January and being joined by a pod of dolphins. Later that day I flew back to Boston where we had 4 feet of snow. Nothing's made me question my choice of residence more than that experience.

Ethan Herschenfeld

NAME: Ethan Herschenfeld

HOMETOWN: Brooklyn, NY

WHY DID YOU SIGN UP FOR BLS? Looks like a great event! I’m hoping to build on this to do some longer swims.

WHO IS YOUR PILOT AND CREW? Colton Rubbicco is my pilot, and Izzy Levine will be my crew.

WHERE ARE YOU SWIMMING FOR YOUR BLS TRAINING? In the bay and ponds in Truro, MA and in the pool in Brooklyn, NY.

SWIMMING FUN FACT: I do the Provincetown Swim4Life every September and recently I've done it fly, and IM!

ANYTHING ELSE? I’m raising funds for the Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee, Cambridge's anti-poverty nonprofit working toward economic stability and addressing systemic causes of poverty.

Please support the CEOC if you are able. I'm matching donations 1:1! ceoccambridge.org/ethanherschenfeldswim

Paul "Paulie" Valitutto

NAME: Paul Valitutto - “Paulie”

HOMETOWN: Tampa, FL

WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH BLS? While i have crewed this course on 3 occasions, this is my 1st time swimming BLS !

WHO IS YOUR PILOT AND CREW? Crew Isaac Vernon, Boat Pilot Tim White

WHERE ARE YOU SWIMMING FOR YOUR BLS TRAINING? I train primarily in Tampa, Florida, splitting my time between the pool and the beautiful open waters along the Pinellas County coastline.

SWIMMING FUN FACT: Whenever I travel, I love connecting with local marathon swimmers and getting the opportunity to swim in the waters they call home.

ANYTHING ELSE? A heartfelt thank you to our incredible Bay Area Marathon Swim community and to all the amazing swimmers I've had the privilege of sharing the water with throughout this journey.

Attila Mányoki

NAME: Attila Mányoki

HOMETOWN: Budapest, Hungary

WHY DID YOU SIGN UP FOR BLS? History, traditions and unique place to swim.

WHO IS YOUR PILOT AND CREW? Steven Laduzinski crew and Raoul Binette pilot

WHERE ARE YOU SWIMMING FOR YOUR BLS TRAINING? Mostly training in the pool. My last event was a 14k on June 27th In Austria . I finished 2nd in 4hrs and 7mins. I will swim Lake Ontario between the 19th and 24th of July.

SWIMMING FUN FACT: I am not a talent.

ANYTHING ELSE? I am a passionate global swimmer!

Catie Fyfe

NAME: Catie Fyfe

HOMETOWN: Brewster, MA

WHY DID YOU SIGN UP FOR BLS? I try and pick a fun swim each year in a new to me body of water- I was excited to sign up for Boston as a new swim close to home!

WHO IS YOUR PILOT AND CREW? My crew is my awesome sister Carrie Fyfe, and my friend and coach extraordinaire Pam Rogers. My pilot is Tom Daley.

WHERE ARE YOU SWIMMING FOR YOUR BLS TRAINING? Ponds and bays across the Cape with the Sheeps Mermaids. In the winter I train with Firefish masters.

SWIMMING FUN FACT: I returned to lifeguarding this summer at the town pool and am having a blast!