As a kid, Jim Dreyer almost drowned and developed a lifetime aversion to the water. He actually never learned how to swim.
When he was 32, Jim first took beginners swimming lessons. From there, it didn’t take long for him to excel in the pool.
Just two years later, in 1998, Jim became the first person to swim across the width of Lake Michigan – starting in Two Rivers, Wisconsin and ending in Ludington, Michigan. It took a grueling 41 hours.
When Jim made it to shore, a crowd of over 100 people erupted with applause.
Jim's right eye was swollen shut from almost two days in the water with leaky swim goggles.
“I know what it feels like to want to quit, but I haven’t experienced what it’s like to give into that feeling yet," Dreyer said in a television interview. "I didn’t want this to be the first time.”
Jim is making his fourth attempt to cross Lake Michigan. He took off Monday night from the shores of Grand Haven to swim 80 miles to Milwaukee.
