Open Water

The City of Miami Beach declared April 17 Merle Liivand Day, celebrating the renowned open-water swimmer’s world record swim there. Liivand broke her world record that day by swimming 30 kilometers in a monofin off Miami Beach. The feat took nine hours and 19 minutes. View this post on Instagram ...

When Haley Anderson and Ashley Twichell solidified their 10K open water qualification for the Tokyo Olympics at the 2019 World Championships, it was an obvious weight lifted off their shoulders, and ensured a year-long preparation for the 2020 Olympics. So when the Games were unprecedentedly pushed ...

Erica Sullivan and David Heron took the 10K open water national titles on Friday morning in Fort Myers, Florida as this meet served as qualification for the open water national team status as the Olympic roster has already been selected from the placings at the 2019 World Championships. Results Sull...

The start lists for the Open Water Nationals have been released for this weekend's meet in Fort Myers, Florida as the two Olympians for 2021 - Ashley Twichell & Haley Anderson will lead the women's field along with Texas commit Erica Sullivan in what will be an intriguing race in both the 10K on Fri...

FINA has announced the re-scheduling of the FINA Diving World Cup for the new dates of May 1-6, 2021. The competition will take place in Tokyo, as originally planned, and will serve as both a qualification and test event for the Olympic Games, taking place from July 23-August 8, 2021 in the Japanese...

At age 16, Miss Marilyn Bell was inspired when she learned that American star swimmer, ISHOF Honoree, Florence Chadwick, was being offered a $10,000 purse to complete a swim across Lake Ontario. Bell wanted the honor to go to a Canadian swimmer. Three swimmers showed up for the attempt with waves of...

A Look at English Channel Crossing Speed Progressions The English Channel is the standard test for traditional marathon swimmers. As of the end of 2020, 2,157 individuals had completed the swim, compared to 5,788 who had summited Mount Everest. Many of the elite marathon racers (for example, those i...

In light of continued global health concerns regarding COVID-19 and guidance from local, state and federal authorities, it is with heavy hearts that the RCP Tiburon Mile has made the decision to postpone the 2021 RCP Tiburon event, originally scheduled for October 10, 2021. The health and safety of ...

The Guide to Open Water Swimming: A Look at the Intriguing Tactics and Tricks By Ned Denison Swimming is swimming. But the difference between pool swimming (with individual lanes, a line on the bottom and the protection of lane lines) and open water is dramatic. The word most often used is “physical...

Swimming South Africa’s Open Water swimmers continued to shine during the second day of the Championships, taking place at the Marina Martinique in Jeffrey’s Bay. This year’s competition also doubles as the official trials for the FINA World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships and the top two a...

The 2021 South African Open Water Swimming Olympic Trials and qualification for the FINA World Junior Championships began today at the Marina Martinique in Jeffrey’s Bay. The top two swimmers from the men’s and women’s 10km race will be eligible for national selection and the first to pencil their n...

Marathon Swimming: Where Women Have Outperformed the Men Today, March 8, we celebrate International Women's Day. As a tribute to the women who have contributed to, grown and defined excellence in the sport, Swimming World will run several features throughout the day which celebrate some of the great...

Marathon Swimming in a Shark Cage: A Unique Way to Race in the Open Water You might ask: “Why would anyone knowingly swim in waters frequented by the more dangerous species of sharks (great white, bull and tiger to name just three)?” A silly question really as we witness: Free climbing El Capitan in...

The COVID-19 pandemic has obviously shaken up the world this past year. The Olympics got pushed back a year, various meet cuts were changed, and certain practices became difficult to get to. However, for some swimmers, the situation was even worse. Often times, when a high school swimmer's school di...

October 23, 2010 changed Dick Shoulberg's life forever. It was on that day that Fran Crippen tragically lost his life at age 26 during an open water race in hot water off the coast of Dubai. Now 81, Shoulberg had been the head coach of the swim team at Germantown Academy for over 40 years, leading k...

As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, Swimming Canada continues to make plans for nominating its Olympic team. After previously invoking the unexpected circumstances clause of its Olympic team nomination criteria, Swimming Canada has selected two swimmers to represent Canada ...

Open Water History: 105 Years of Swimming Around Manhattan Swimming around the center of New York City (45.9km/28.5 miles) has long been a tradition for many swimmers, with hotly contested races between top swimmers also part of history. The challenge consists of strong tides, the flows of three riv...

Editor’s Note: erroneous reports out of Puerto Rico said that Harry Hauck, considered by most to be the grandfather of water polo on the island, had passed away after a lengthy illness. Swimming World inadvertently published an obituary to this effect. In fact, Coach Hauck is alive and—even though h...

The World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) on Tuesday announced its 2020 WOWSA Awards. The awards were bestowed in four categories: Man of the Year, Woman of the Year, Performance of the Year and Offering of the Year. In total, 59 nominees were presented from 27 countries. The winners were se...

National Girls & Women in Sports Day: The Greatness of Gertrude Ederle By Lianne McCluskey, Swimming World Intern. Gertrude Ederle showed the world what grit and tenacity can do: make swimming history. On August 6, 1926, 19-year-old Trudy became not only the first woman to complete the English Chann...