BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Former Lehigh swimmer Kate Donald ‘04 captured first place at the 2007 United States Masters 5K Open Water Championships Saturday, May 19 in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Donald, 24, navigated the five kilometer stretch of the Gulf of Mexico in a time of 1:06:52.68 to capture her 18-24 age group by nearly a minute and a half, while capturing the overall title by nine seconds.
“We’re really proud of her,” said Lehigh head coach Rob Herb, who was Lehigh’s Aquatic Director when Donald swam for the Brown and White. “Open water swimming is one of the newest and fastest growing styles of competitive swimming, and for her to be on the cutting edge, taking full advantage of this opportunity and having the success that she did has made a lot of her friends proud and has made Lehigh proud.”
The US Masters Swimming organization serves an outlet to keep adults active in competitive swimming. In winning the open water 5K title, Donald outraced over 30 women between the ages of 18 and 65. The National Open Water Festival featured national championships for both men and women in the 5K, 10K and 25K distances, plus the Masters race and a junior Olympic race.
A native of Westhampton, New Jersey, Donald swam primarily breaststroke, individual medley and some distance in her four years at Lehigh. She competed at the 2001 Patriot League championships, finishing as high as eighth in the 200 breast. Donald earned her degree in civil engineering and currently swims for the Pennypack Aquatic and Fitness Club out of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
