The next challenge for Jimmy Graham? Row nonstop across the entire Arctic Ocean.
Jimmy Graham is no stranger to the extremes, whether it is in football, endurance cycling, or aviation.
The tight end for the New Orleans Saints revealed on Monday his most recent goal to challenge his body: he will be a member of a four-person crew that aims to break the speed record for rowing across the Arctic Ocean in July 2025.
Graham will navigate for the crew. He will be accompanied on the adventure by New Orleans natives John and Hannah Huppi, who both rowed for the US national team, as well as former Navy SEAL Andrew Tropp, who will act as the captain.
Graham and his team will have to traverse the 1,000 kilometers of treacherous open ocean in fewer than 15 days, 5 hours, and 32 minutes in order to break the previous year’s record.
The group will set off from Tromsø, Norway, heading north-south toward Longyearbyen, Svalbard. They will labor in two-hour shifts and row nonstop in a nine-meter ocean rowing boat. Since the expedition is entirely unsupported, they will bring all of their supplies and food with them.
If the gang makes it through the entire trek, even if they don’t break the world record, they will have accomplished some history. If the four managed to complete, they would have achieved a first for themselves as well: they would be the first mixed-gender crew to row across a polar ocean, Graham would be the first Black person to do so, and the Huppis would be the first married couple to do so.
The crew expects its members to sleep for no more than ninety minutes at a time during the journey and to require a daily caloric intake exceeding eight thousand.
The Arctic Challenge, as it has been dubbed, will collaborate with Covenant House, the Jimmy Graham Foundation, and Laureus Sport for Good USA, three organizations that assist underprivileged youngsters.
The group’s declared goal is to “inspire young minds” as well as “to challenge the next generation to defy their limiting beliefs and chart their own course toward extraordinary achievements.”
Saints quarterback Derek Carr commented on X/Twitter after Graham revealed his plans on Monday. He shared Graham’s announcement along with a few laughing emojis and said, “Of course you are.”
Graham might be aiming to do other extreme endurance challenges in the future. Graham expressed his love for endurance riding in an interview with the Times-Picayune last autumn. He also revealed his intentions to participate in the Race Across America, which gives riders a maximum of 12 days to bike from southern California to Maryland.
In the interview, Graham stated, “I’ve always had this yearning to push myself to the limit.”
Graham came back to play football in New Orleans last year after a year away from it. Though he only caught six passes in 13 games, four of them were for touchdowns.
Although he has made suggestions that he is done with football, Graham has not yet made it known that he intends to retire.
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