"I have literally swum across the United States" (Jen Graves)

"I have literally swum across the United States" (Jen Graves in The Stranger)

But there's 3,000 miles of land--not water--between the West and East Coasts of the United States, dear Jen.

Clumsy hyperbole, fib, or just a poor command of the English language?

In The Stranger (July 3-9, 2013), Jen Graves in a paean to Coleman Pool (in Lincoln Park) makes the unequivocal assertion that she literally swam across the United States! She adds that she was a competitive synchronized swimmer for many years.

I guess she brooks no editorial disagreement.  Either that, or her editors were asleep at the desk.