Open Water

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...

Olympic Champ Sharon van Rouwendaal Wins 50th Edition of Midmar Mile Olympic champion Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands picked up the win last weekend at the Midmar Mile race in South Africa. The men’s race was won for the second straight year by South Africa’s Connor Buck. The 50th edition o...

Sarah Thomas Takes Home Two Honors in WOWSA Awards 2022 American Sarah Thomas was among the big winners at the WOWSA Awards 2022, announced by the organization on Tuesday. The World Open Water Swimming Association opened balloting for six categories. Fielding 143 nominations, the committed narrowed ...

Barbara Hernandez Marks World First with 2.5-KM Antarctica Swim Chilean swimmer Barbara Hernandez became the first swimmer to cover 2.5 kilometers in the frozen waters off Antarctica on Monday. Hernandez is an experienced open-water swimmer, having set the Guinness world record for the fastest ocean...

Olympian Markus Rogan Among Three Attempting World Record Ice Swims Austrian Olympic swimmer Markus Rogan is part of a group of three swimmers attempting a world record under-ice swim this week. The attempt, on Feb. 2 and 3, will featured Rogan, 83-year-old Californian Michael C. Donaldson and Chris...

Swim Documentary ‘Unsinkable’ Completes Busy 2022 Festival Season  The swimming documentary ‘Unsinkable,’ released in 2022, has completed a busy run through film festivals in 2022, a tour that will continue through the spring of 2023. The film documents Alan Corcoran’s attempt to swim the 500-kilome...

Voting Is Open for 2022 WOWSA Awards The World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) has opened balloting for the 2022 WOWSA Awards. Voting will continue through the end of January. Winners will be announced on February 3. Performers in six categories were nominated by the public. A total of 143 n...

Rice Swims to CSCAA Open Water Championship Behind Winner Ella Dyson Ella Dyson led the way as Rice captured the sixth College Swimming Coaches Association of America Open Water Championship in North Miami, Florida on Sunday. After being held in Lawrence, Kansas at the start of the fall season for t...

USA Swimming, the National Governing Body of the sport of swimming in the United States, today announced its 2022-23 Open Water U.S. National Team and National Junior Team presented by Toyota. A full look at the National Team roster can be found here, while the National Junior Team roster can be fou...

2022's Open Water Highlights: Florian Wellbrock Shines Beyond the Pool As open water swimming continues to grow and return to normalcy after the pandemic, there have been plenty of exciting stories. Here is a look at some of the best and most interesting open water moments during 2022. WORLD CHAMPIO...

FINA Open Water Tour 2023 Announces Six Stops in 17th Season The FINA Open Water Tour 2023 released dates on Thursday for its events next season, the 17th iteration of the global series. The six dates are in addition to the FINA World Championships next summer in Fukuoka, Japan. The tour will have t...

Gregorio Paltrinieri, Kristof Rasovszky Tie for FINA Marathon Swim World Series Title; Ana Marcela Cunha Wins Women's The final stop of the FINA Marathon Swim World Series took place Saturday in Eilat, Israel, with 10-kilometer races for men and women, and Italian distance star Gregorio Paltrinieri ...

By Claire Alongi, Swimming World College Intern. Swimming is a cool activity, right? For many the image of paradise is being surrounded by a cloud of sunscreen while lazing by the ocean or pool before slipping into the water to escape the sweltering heat. However, competitive swimmers are very in-to...

Today marks 12 years since the death of Fran Crippen in an open-water race in Dubai that should have never taken place due to extremely high water temperatures. Swimming World annually runs this story in which Crippen's longtime coach, Dick Shoulberg, fondly remembers his protege. October 23, 2010 c...

Navigating Open Waters with the Right Mentor - Such As Bridgette Hobart Open-water racing is a truly different sport than racing in the pool. With no lane lines, contact from other swimmers, and marine life, there are so many things that can influence a race. Being good at this sport requires mental...

Nigel Downing, 71, Becomes Oldest British Swimmer to Cross Strait of Bonifacio Nigel Downing has become the oldest British swimmer to cross the Strait of Bonifacio, doing so in late September to raise money for charity. Downing, 71, covered the 13.9-kilometer crossing in four hours, 25 minutes. He o...

Taking On the S.C.A.R. Challenge: A Major Open-Water Demand Many marathon swimmers look for new and unusual challenges. One of the very different challenges is S.C.A.R., which is four marathon swims in four days. This event is held in the Southwestern desert of the United States in the Salt River ne...

Petition Started to Protest FINA’s Removal of 25km Race from Worlds A petition has stated online in response to FINA’s decision last month to remove the 25-kilometer swim from the 2023 World Championships. The effort is being led by the account Openwater Media. It has drawn more than 1,000 signature...

Former Irish Rugby Star Rosie Foley Complete Swimming Triple Crown Rosie Foley, a former Irish international rugby player, completed the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, in memory of her late brother. Foley is just the third Irish swimmer to complete open water’s three most decorated swims. The ...