"Gonna Fly Now" may have motivated Rocky, but for this 50-year-old asthmatic marathon swimmer, it's all about "Finding Nemo."
Connecticut's Elizabeth Fry set a record by swimming clockwise around Manhattan in 11 hours, 41 minutes and 5 seconds, but her inspiration doesn't come from the likes of Olympians Michael Phelps or Dara Torres. Her muse is Dory, the singing blue tang fish voiced by Ellen DeGeneres in "Finding Nemo," according to a published report.
"You just keep swimming," a victorious Fry told the Daily News after her record-breaking swim, mimicking Dory's sprightly tune.
Fry, of Westport, started the 28.5-mile swim in the Harlem River at midnight Thursday and finished before noon Friday. She became the first woman to swim around Manhattan clockwise and beat the previous record time by more than six hours.
"I feel great. It was so beautiful," she told reporters once back on dry land, adding she was happy she swam so well and felt pretty good physically.
The toughest part came once she rounded the tip of Manhattan and had to fight her way back down the Harlem River; that's where the current was strongest, Fry told the News.
But she powered through, cheered on by a crew of volunteers, including her sister, and a kayaker who kept her safe through the night by watching out for floating objects.
Fry, a financial adviser by day, finished fifth in this year's Manhattan Island Marathon Swim and has successfully crossed the English Channel three times since 2003.
Spokesman Dave Herscher said the previous record of 17:48:30 was set in 1995 by male swimmer Kris Rutford.
