PROUD PAPA — MICHAEL “THE MARLIN” HODEL TAKES ON MANHATTAN
August 8, 2026
Birch Bay, Washington
A little personal bragging is in order today.
Just a few weeks after swimming the English Channel from England to France, my son Michael Hodel is back in the water—this time in New York, swimming the 20 Bridges open-water marathon around Manhattan Island.
I’ve been following him on the live tracker, and as I write this, Michael appears to be leading the field by a substantial margin. The tracker currently has him at roughly eight hours, with the next swimmer about an hour behind.
Quite a sight for a proud papa sitting 3,000 miles away watching those little colored lines move around Manhattan!
The 20 Bridges swim is a complete circumnavigation of Manhattan—roughly 28.5 miles, through the East River, Harlem River and Hudson River. Add that to an English Channel crossing just weeks earlier and, well…
Way to go, Michael!
Love you, son.
—Steve
Sat, Augist 18, 8:30 PST Update:
Mike still leads the pack and heading toward the finsih line.
UPDATE- THE MARLIN DOES IT — FIRST ACROSS THE FINISH, 8 HOURS 37 MINUTES
Congratulations Michael!
You sometimes have to wonder if some people are rally part fish. Just saying.
Congratulations to Steve as well. (Are you part fish???)
Ron: Not really I swim just for the halibut. (pun intended). Mike has been swimming/racing since his HS and College days. But the long distance, marathon swimming is new. I think his next one will be Long Beach to Catalina, “twenty-six miles across the sea” as the song goes. Will see?