ROSARIO, Argentina. May 6. ARGENTINE marathon swimming great Alfredo Camarero Guzman passed away on Friday. As one of the early pioneers of marathon swimming in Argentina and on the professional marathon swimming circuit in the 1950s, the dashing Camarero leaves a long legacy and inspired many great marathon swimmers during his prolific career.
Camarero won the 33 km professional Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli in 1955 in 8 hours 45 minutes that launched his career. Then, he went on to win the Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli in 1956 in 11 hours 53 minutes, and the 36 km (22.5-mile) professional marathon race in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA called the Around the Island Swim in 12 hours and 17 minutes in 1957 over Tom Park and Greta Andersen.
These races brought the best in the world together and were the professional world championships of that era.
He continued to inspire next generations of marathon swimmers in Argentina after his professional career was over. He won the 1960 marathon in Miramar, Argentina in 1960, completed the Strait of Gibraltar in 1974 in 5 hours 43 minutes at the age of 43, finished a marathon swim in Termas in 1990 at the age of 59, and completed a solo Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli in 2002 in 6 hours 15 minutes.
