Man, 71, Fails Catalina Swim

A 71-year-old athlete who has held records as the oldest man to swim the English Channel and to circle Manhattan failed today in his attempt to cross the chilly Pacific waters between Santa Catalina Island and Los Angeles.

Ashby Harper said he was forced to stop when he began to get nauseated and an old shoulder injury began to ache about 5:45 a.m. He had completed about half of the 19.1-mile crossing that he began just before 11 p.m. Monday.