How the International Marathon Swimming Hall (IMSHOF) of Fame Works
By Ned Denison
There are thousands of “Halls of Fame” in operation around the world. While many focus on sports, they also include other fields – Automotive, Barbecue, Black Filmmakers, International Latin Music, Quilters, Australian Prospectors & Miners’, Military Intelligence, Scottish Engineering, Blackjack, World Video Game, and Potato. The list goes on.
Don’t smile. Some fast-food restaurants proudly advertise the farms where they source the potatoes. If you were the farmer, imagine the pride in being in the Potato Hall of Fame.
The goal of a hall of fame is simple: Promote the field of endeavor and honor individuals and organizations. It is worth noting that Halls of Fame are very popular in the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia, but less so in the rest of the world.
At the top level of sports is, perhaps, the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Currently, it has 352 elected members, including 279 former Major League players, as well as 40 executives/pioneers, 23 managers and 10 umpires. Those selected to this Hall are universally called “Hall of Famers,” even before their World Series titles, All-Star selections and batting championships are mentioned. Annual selections are U.S. national news and the best current players are called “Future Hall of Famers.” Mention “Cooperstown” to any baseball fan and they instantly know of their famous museum.
The International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (IMSHOF) applies to a much smaller sport (open water swims of 10k+). It was started in 1971 and includes Induction class from 1963. Currently, it has 353 Honorees, including 250 swimmers, 59 administrators, 14 coaches, 18 organizations and 12 pilots.
IMSHOF immortalizes the sport and the achievements/contributions of their Honorees at annual ceremonies and through several online vehicles: Website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Newsletters, and a public electronic library. Daily posts on Facebook range from a birthdate celebration to recent accomplishments to sport history to recent recorded interviews. Marathon swimming is different from most sports as individuals often participate well into their 70s and even 80s. As a result, IMSHOF Honoree biographies, with video links and lists of accomplishments, continue to evolve over decades. IMSHOF is part of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, which is currently rebuilding its physical museum in Fort Lauderdale.
International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame
IMSHOF is managed by a truly international Executive Committee, six representatives aged 20s to 70s, which collaborates on a monthly call:
- Ned Denison – 12 years – Ireland (Chairperson & website lead): Oversees the strategic direction and the evolving website biographies of Honorees.
- Beth Yudovin – 11 years – USA (Finance): Fiscal oversight also serves as a critical liaison to the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
- Richard Broer – 9 years – Netherlands (publication): Meticulously edits the annual 40+ page annual Ceremony booklet to capture the record of each induction class.
- Madhu Nagaraja – 4 years – Canada (social media & technology lead): Oversees the daily promotion of Honorees across Facebook and Instagram plus drives the IT strategy.
- Nora Toledano Cadena – 4 years – Mexico (selection lead): Manages the rigorous identification of global talent, ensuring the nominations process reflects the diverse international nature of the sport and supervises balloting.
- Alice Dearing – 1 year – England (social media): As an Olympian, serves as the critical liaison to World Aquatics and drives social media to this group.
Three of the six members grew up in homes where English was not the primary language. They ensure a continued focus on branding the Hall by glorifying the history of the sport and accomplishments by the Honorees. All those helping IMSHOF are volunteers and operate on a tiny budget to fund IT and part of the annual Ceremonies. This approach ensures that IMSHOF is 99%+ focused on the sport and Honorees and not on soliciting for donations.
Annually, new Honorees are inducted and awards announced. This is accomplished through a process of gathering nominations, ballot screening, selection voting, announcements and an Induction and Awards Ceremony weekend.
Nominations: Anyone can nominate any individual/organization. Each Honoree category and Award has generally defined criteria (example – numbers of years participating in the sport – IMSHOF requires a career not just one big swim). IMSHOF is fairly unique in requiring a high ethics level which include bans for any failed WADA (performance enhancing drugs) test, child abuse, swim fraud, safety, etc. IMSHOF previously removed two Honorees and has barred 11 (as of end 2025) from future nomination.
Ballot Screening Committee: Verifies the accuracy of the nomination details and ensures that the nominees’ careers are worthy of placement on the ballot.
Ballots/Voting: A panel of more than 70 Selectors then vote. Voters represent the international nature of the sport (from 28 countries and 20 different languages), across the eras (ages from 20s to 80s – from the last 40 + years of Induction Classes), gender balanced, with a high level of IMSHOF interest (79% previously attended IMSHOF Induction & Awards Ceremonies), and inclusive (26 with physical disabilities or greatly assisted swimmers with physical disabilities).
New inductees and award winners are notified, biographies added to the website and their selection publicized.
International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame
Finally, they are invited, along with family, friends and crews, to the annual Induction and Awards Ceremony weekend which includes the formal dinner and presentations along with swims, casual gatherings and a Congress to discuss key IMSHOF issues. IMSHOF makes every effort to be international, so biographies include local language translations and ceremonies have been held in different locations for the past 15 years: Australia, England, Ireland, Italy, Jersey (Island of), México, Scotland, and USA. These ceremonies draw on average 100 attendees with 25 Honorees.
113 IMSHOF Honorees have also been inducted into other sport Halls of Fame. A few examples show the international spread:
International Halls of Fame
International Swimming: Greta Andersen (Denmark), Abdellatief Abou Heif (Egypt), Larisa Dmitriyevna Ilchenko (Russia), Stéphane Lecat (France), Alick Wickham (Solomon Islands), and Ferry Weertman (Netherlands).
Masters International Swimming: Suzanne Heim-Bowen (USA)
International Ice Swimming: Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria)
International Swim Coaches Associaton: S.A. “Sid” Cassidy (USA)
Country Halls of Fame
Argentina: Pilar Geijo
Australia Marathon Swimming: Rottnest Channel Swim Association
Brazil Swimming: Baron Abílio Couto
Ireland Marathon Swimming: Billy Wallace
National Jewish Sports: Dr. Jane Katz (USA)
Swim England: Commander Gerald Forsberg, OBE, Master Mariner, FNI, Royal Navy (Retired)
State/Province Halls of Fame
Quebec Panthéon des Sports: Régent Lacoursière (Canada)
Vermont Open Water: Elizabeth Fry (USA)
Local Halls of Fame
Etobicoke (a district in Toronto with a population of about 400,000) Sports: Marilyn Bell (Canada)
University Tecnologico de Monterrey Athletic: Jaime Lomelín Gavaldón (México)
The next Ceremony will be held in San Diego on 16th May 2026.