I’m the author of five books, including the forthcoming The Plunge: Maverick Swimmers, an Unlikely Quest, and the Transformative Power of Cold Water (Simon & Schuster, June 9, 2026).

 

Lynne Cox called The Plunge "brilliant. " Jeff Pearlman described it as "masterful" and "life-affirming." And Adam Grant described it as, "mesmerizing," adding, "I still loathe cold water but I loved this book." 

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For two decades, I was a Senior Writer at Sports Illustrated, where I wrote features, profiles, and investigations. My work has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, and elsewhere.

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I’m the author of The Art of a Beautiful Game and One Shot at Forever. Eight of my stories have been optioned for film, and seven have been selected for The Best American Sports Writing. I was a finalist for a National Magazine Award, appeared in The Best American Magazine Writing, and received the Dan Jenkins Medal for Excellence in Sportswriting.

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I’ve also taught at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and in 2020 led a team partnering with The New York Times to cover COVID-19 and its impact across California.

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I continue to work on long-form narrative projects across print and audio, including reporting and narrating a podcast for Audible.

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You can reach me at chrisballard33 [at] Gmail

I'm on Twitter @Chris_Ballard33