Jennifer Figge, 56 year old American long distance swimmer, is the first woman and first American to have swam across the Atlantic Ocean. She completed this 2,500 mile journey in 24 days. Or so she says.

As a serious journalist hard at work for HNN, I find it very disturbing to see the many errs in the Associated Press' work. The AP published an article stating that Figge was “the first woman, and first American, to swim across the Atlantic Ocean.”

However, when common sense started hitting that no one could swim that far in 24 days, suspicion arose. When Figge's spokesman was addressed, he stated that she had only actually swam about 250 miles of the 2,500 miles it would take to complete the journey. The remainder of the trip Figge spent aboard a ship, claiming fears of jelly fish. Typical.

There is no board that oversees oversea swims. No rules governing long distance swimming. So next time you head to the beach, remember that so long as you dip your toes into the ocean, you too can claim to have swam the span of the entire ocean!