An hour before sunrise Tuesday, with temperatures in the low 30s, Karen Gaffney strapped on a bright red swim cap and kid-size turquoise goggles.

She tucked a neon glow stick under the goggle strap, took a deep breath, stretched her arms in her full wetsuit and plunged into the 60-degree waters off Dead Man's Point on the East Shore of Lake Tahoe.

Gaffney would be swimming into the afternoon in an attempt to make history.

Her mission: To be the first person with Down syndrome to cross the lake, swimming nine miles from the East Shore to the West Shore's Sugar Pine Point.

Why? Because she can.

“We're not aware of what these people can do,” Gaffney's father, Jim, said confidently before witnessing his daughter plunge into the cold darkness.

When asked about his daughter, he simply described her as “determined and disciplined”

Karen, a 29-year-old from Portland Ore., has a college degree, and is a public speaker advocating the abilities of people with Down syndrome with her own non-profit, The Karen Gaffney Foundation. The swim is aimed at raising money for the nonprofit National Down Syndrome Congress.

Swimming since she was nine months old, Karen is perhaps more comfortable in water than on land.

“She swims much faster than she walks,” her mother, Barbara Gaffney said.

Hip dysplasia has made it difficult for Karen to walk. She's had five surgeries in an attempt to correct her gait. She also has poor eyesight, making open water swimming more challenging than being in a pool.

Despite all the challenges, Karen continues to break barriers in the sport.

She has competed in Donner Lake Swim, Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon. She’s even crossed the English Channel on a relay team.

But as the sun rose over the Sierra on Tuesday and with her support team in tow, it was clear Karen would need every bit of the three to six miles a day she trained in the weeks leading up to the swim.

Taking feeds of Gatorade, bananas and Fig Newtons every 30 to 45 minutes from a support Kayak piloted by her uncle, Bill Gaffney, Karen swam in time with a rotating group of pacers, one of whom was Ken Harmon, from Danville, Calif., the fastest swimmer to cross the length of the lake.

But her support team was far from alone Tuesday.

An entourage of six boats, mostly camera crews from national and local networks and news services, chronicled Karen's swim from start to finish.

Her only brother, Brian, rode near her on a Jet Ski.

“I love her kick!” said Karen's aunt Katie as she watched her niece's leg rise above the water with the precision of a synchronized swimmer.

“They call that the Karen kick,” Bri Maier said.

Maier helps Gaffney run the non-profit the Karen Gaffney Foundation in Portland.

“She dropped me like a brick!” said Phil Summers who swam more than five miles with Karen and also coaches her in Portland.

After six hours of being in the water Karen was numb head to toe, but could see the shore of Sugar Pine Point lined with supporters, media and on-lookers.

With a final stroke and kick, she swam into the arms of her uncle Bill, who helped her walk to shore.

“I feel great!” Karen said as her water-wrinkled face cracked a smile.

Amongst the crowd were several children with Down syndrome who see Karen as a role model.

“We have a poster of Karen and it's a great thing to aspire to,” said Alex Silverman of Tahoe City whose two-year-old son, Finley, was born with Down syndrome. Finley's father, Ralph Silverman's also provided Chris-Craft boats for the support crew.

Nancy Muir who came to Tahoe from Rocklin to watch Karen swim with her daughter MacKenzie, a six-year-old with Down syndrome.

“I've been looking forward to this day for months,” Muir said. “We're constantly being told our kids can't do these kinds of things. She's opening doors for my daughter.”

As for Karen, she couldn't be happier, but it will be a while before she gets in water again.

“It was a new experience,” Karen said. “I really hit a homerun on the swim and I really made a lot of people proud.”

Karen's family could not be more pleased — and relieved — seeing her back on land.

“It's awesome,” her father said. “It's been a long-time dream. There are so many things that can go wrong.”

As she watched from the boat Gaffney's Aunt Katie Lynch got the chills as she watched reached Sugar Pine Point.

“What an inspiration; don't you think?”

The Gaffney's chose Tahoe for the historic swim because it has been a favorite of the family for generations.

Karen Gaffney said remembers playing on the beaches as child.

Father Jim Gaffney said he was looking for a good spot to complete a “solo” swim “to demonstrate on her own how strong she is in the water.”

The only concerns the Gaffney family expressed prior to Karen's early morning swim was starting on time:

“You're just racing against the wind. You got to get started before it picks up,” Barbara Gaffney said.

Her pace was strong and consistent as she glided, and the waters of Big Blue cooperated with a classic fall calm.

“It's one of the most beautiful lakes in the world,” mother Barbara Gaffney said.

While taking a well-deserved break, Karen and her family said swimming shore-to-shore in Tahoe will not be her final triumph.

“(I want her to) swim Napali off the north coast of Kauai,” Phil Summers, one of Gaffney's coaches said. “The other is a secret; I have to do some research to see if it's even possible.”

Chances are, for Gaffney, it will be.


<i>For more information go to <a href="http://www.karengaffneyfoundation.com";>www.karengaffneyfoundation.com<;/a></i>

Emma Garrard, who also swam approximately three miles as a pacer for Karen Gaffney, can be reached at egarrard@sierrasun.com.