Kate Steels, Paul Georgescu named 2021 WOWSA Swimmers of the Year

Kate Steels; Photo Courtesy: WOWSA

Kate Steels, Paul Georgescu named 2021 WOWSA Swimmers of the Year

The World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) unveiled its 2021 annual awards on Sunday, naming winners in five categories.

Some 520 swimmers were formally nominated by peers and fans, and more than 12,000 people voted online for the winners. A list of 77 nominees from 37 nations were culled to one man and woman of the year, as well as a performance of the year.

The full list of honorees and athlete bios is available here. The awards are sponsored by Dryrobe and KAATSU.

The man of the year went to Romania’s Paul Georgescu. An ice, channel and marathon swimmer, he became the first person to complete the Seven Lakes Project in his home country. Within a week, he traveled more than 1,800 kilometers and swam 100 kilometers over six lakes in Romania, tallying more than 27 hours in the water. He also did a 100k pool swim and set the world record for the longest ice mile swim.

Kate Steels was named the woman of the year. The British swimmer completed the Ice Sevens, swimming ice miles on all seven continents, just the third person to manage the feat. She’s the chairperson of the International Ice Swimming Association Great Britain and as member of the International Ice Swimming Hall of Fame. She’s survived both the death of her only child, Daniel, and surgery to treat a life-threatening brain aneurysm.

Romania’s Avram Iancu won the performance of the year for his swim of the Danube River in his home country. Iancu swam 26.35 kilometers upstream from the Iron Gate Dam, taking 18 and a half hours to finish it. He had previously swam 103.8 kilometers on the Danube over 36 and a half hours in 2020.

2022 World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) Awards

World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year

Winner: Avram Iancu (Romania)
First Runner-Up: Jose Eduardo do Amaral Ferreira (Brazil)
Second Runner-Up: Jordan Leckey (Ireland)

World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year

Winner: Paul Georgescu (Romania)
First Runner-Up: Neil Agius (Malta)
Second Runner-Up: Joel Matos Ortiz (Puerto Rico)

World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year

Winner: Kate Steels (Great Britain)
First Runner-Up: Elaine Burrows Dillane (Ireland)
Second Runner-Up: Abhejali Bernardova (Czech Republic)

World Open Water Swimming Product or Service of the Year

Winner: Aloo (Mexico)
First Runner-Up: La Morada Club (Argentina)
Second Runner-Up: Oceans Seven: How I Cheated Death And Broke The Hardest Record In Swimming (Hungary)

World Open Water Swimming Event of the Year

Winner: Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli (Italy)
First Runner-Up: Irish Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming (Ireland)
Second Runner-Up: Mediterranean Peace Route (Cyprus-Turkey)

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