The four athletes from the Lat35 team rowed more than 2,400 nautical miles from San Francisco to Honolulu.
Four courageous women just broke a world record — after braving dehydration and debilitating heat.
Cramped in a small American Spirit rowboat, Libby Costello, Sophia Denison-Johnston, Brooke Downes and Adrienne Smith of the Lat35 team spent 34 days, 14 hours and 11 minutes rowing across the Pacific Ocean — and finished Tuesday in world-record time.
The all-female team, which documented its journey on Instagram, traversed more than 2,400 nautical miles from San Francisco to Honolulu and operated in two-hour shifts, according to “Good Morning America.” It was the first time they rowed unassisted and in the open sea, with only about 90 minutes of shut-eye at a time.
“I feel totally overwhelmed in the best way by love. And I’m also exhausted,” Denison-Johnston told “Good Morning America” upon setting foot on solid ground.
The Great Pacific Race touts itself as “a race unlike any you’ve ever experienced before” and kicked off beneath the Golden Gate Bridge on June 21 with Oahu’s shores as the finish line. While the four women arrived in record time, their success was far from certain.
“Your last sight of land as you set off on this journey of a lifetime will be of the beautiful and imposing Farallon Islands and the world-famous Seal Rock, after which lies thousands of miles of open water,” the race’s website explains.
“You will be at one with your boat, closer to your teammates than ever thought possible, and experience nature in a way that no documentary or tour can ever replicate. Your team will be challenged, physically, mentally and emotionally, by the greatest force on earth; the Ocean,” it continues.
The Great Pacific Race has seen remarkable victories since its inaugural year in 2014. These include more than 16 Guinness World Records, including the oldest and youngest people to cross the Pacific and the first blind athlete to do so.
The Lat35 team broke the women’s world record for the race; a four-man team set a world record of 30 days, 7 hours and 30 minutes for the race in 2021.
While they suffered from seasickness and endured harsh winds while scarfing down prepackaged meals on choppy seas, the Lat35 team hopes fans who followed their dispatches realize that they, too, can overcome the seemingly impossible.
“I think something that I want people to take away is that these women are so incredible but we’re not superhuman,” Downes said. “There’s nothing that we’re born with that makes us any different than anybody else.”
Costello, an environmental engineer by trade, served as the crew’s lead technician, according to PopSugar. Denison-Johnston was the lead medic and skipper, while Downes navigated and worked as a second medic, and Smith tended to the logistics of their stunning campaign.
“The ocean is wild, just like us… and we keep rolling with what she gives us with full hearts and lots of laughter!” Smith captioned one of her final Instagram posts at sea. “We read your messages as a group and are in awe of how our decision to be in action of living big is inspiring you and your families.”
The female Lat35 team also used their precarious mission to raise money for the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.
Ultimately, these women just wanted to inspire — and have undoubtedly succeeded.
“We inspired a bunch of different types of people and that’s really important,” Costello told “Good Morning America.”
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