Two people. One Dream. Six Days. World Record

Two Australian water-skiers with a ton of endurance, determination, and heart will take their place behind a boat in the Mississippi River on June 26 to face their goal of the Mississippi Challenge. The attempt is to set a world record by water-skiing the commercially navigable length of the Mississippi River, a distance of 1819 miles or 3032 km, starting in Boom Island, downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, and ending in the Gulf of Mexico.

By making this trip, the two skiers and brothers, Brenton and Sean McGrath, will establish a world record and will raise money for the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and an Australian charity designed to provide housing for families whose children are going through cancer treatments. The Leukemia-Lymphoma Society was an obvious charity choice for the skiers since Brenton himself has leukemia.

Brenton and Sean are no strangers to world record long distance waterskiing. In 1996 they, along with Neville Wilson and Ross Salmon, broke the world record in Australia after skiing a total of 2156 kms in 26 hours 58 minutes and 23 seconds. The skiers broke the previous record for this event by 6 hours 14 minutes and 37 seconds. Since then, the team has faced many personal challenges and losses, including the death of Neville who passed away in January of 2000 from a year long battle with stomach cancer. The Mississippi Challenge is dedicated to him.

Donations may be sent to:
Challenge Charity Trust
c/o Pete Schenck
6626 Rustic Road
Prior Lake, MN 55372-1423

Source: Mississippi Challenge
Photo: By Jo Mackey

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