HUNTINGTON BEACH. January 11. OPEN water swimmers who wield power and influence do so in a variety of ways and roles: as swimmers (both former and current), administrators, judges, coaches, officials, writers, producers or photo\/videographers.<\/p>\n
Some have impact in a subtle manner; others are aided by the media or their own marketing efforts. Some seek to be influential; others merely wield power by the force of their actions, events, achievements statements or prose.<\/p>\n
However way these individuals are involved in the the sport, the following men can be considered to be among the movers and shakers in the world of open water swimming. It is, by far, an incomplete global list, but these men are open water ambassadors, spreading their enthusiasm and passion for the sport:<\/p>\n
Listed in alphabetical order:<\/p>\n
1. Alexander Brylin<\/a> (Russia): Coordinator, Ice Swimmer and President of the AQUICE-sport Federation NOTE: The women's list of 101 Movers and Shakers in the Open Water Swimming World is here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n2. Andy Caine<\/a> (England): Elite Project Manager, Nova International Ltd for British Gas Great Swim Series
\n3. Andy Wright<\/a> (England): Observer, Race Director and Honorary Secretary, British Long Distance Swimming Association
\n4. Arie and Ren\u00e9 Lemstra<\/a> (Netherlands): Father-and-son team and Race Directors
\n5. Ben Lecomte<\/a> (France): Adventure Swimmer who crossed the Atlantic Ocean and will do a stage solo swim across the Pacific Ocean
\n6. Ben Stubenberg<\/a> (Turks & Caicos): Race Director and Coordinator, West Indies Bluewater Ocean Swim Series
\n7. Billy Wallace<\/a> (Ireland): President, Ireland Long Distance Swimming Association
\n8. Bob Placak<\/a> (USA): Race Director, RCP Tiburon Mile and Relay Team Captain
\n9. Bruckner Chase<\/a> (USA\/American Samoa): Ocean Advocate and Creator of 2Samoas\/1Ocean
\n10. Buls Werner<\/a> (Belgium): Race director, Belgium Marathon Swimming Championships and Wedstrijden Willebroek
\n11. Charlie Gravett<\/a> (Jersey): Pilot and Vice President, Jersey Long Distance Swimming Club
\n12. Chris Sheean<\/a> (USA): Race Director, Big Shoulders
\n13. Colin Hill<\/a> (England): Marathon Swimming Technical Operations Manager for the 2012 London Olympics
\n14. Cor de Bruin<\/a> (Netherlands): Race Director of the IJsselmeer swimmarathon, Brakenoer Trophy and Jan van Scheijndel Memorial
\n15. Cornel Marculescu<\/a> (Austria): FINA Executive Director that sanctions FINA open water swims
\n16. Dale Petranech<\/a> (USA): Honorary Secretary of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame
\n17. Dan Martin<\/a> (England): Adventure Swimmer who will attempt the Global Triathlon
\n18. David Clark<\/a> (USA): Board Director, Catalina Channel Swimming Federation and the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame
\n19. David Robinson<\/a> (England): President of Speedo International
\n20. David Sparkes OBE<\/a> (England): CEO, British Swimming and Amateur Swimming Association
\n21. Dennis Miller<\/a> (Fiji): Liaison, FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and FINA Bureau member
\n22. Dimitris Kakalikas<\/a> (Greece): Race Director, Coach and FINA Open Water Swimming Official
\n23. Donal Buckley<\/a> (Ireland): Blogger, Commentator, Swimmer
\n24. Doug Woodring<\/a> (USA\/Hong Kong): Race Director, Environmentalist & Founder of Ocean Recovery Alliance
\n25. Emanuele Sacchi<\/a> (Italy): Elite and National Team Coach of Italy
\n26. Eric Juneau<\/a> (Canada): General Manager, Travers\u00e9e internationale du lac St-Jean (2 FINA pro races)
\n27. Forrest Nelson<\/a> (USA): Marathon Swimmer and President, Catalina Channel Swimming Federation
\n28. Frank Flowers<\/a> (Cayman Islands): Namesake and Race Director, Flowers Sea Swim
\n29. Dr. Jim Miller<\/a> (USA): FINA Sports Medicine Committee Member and FINA Medical Delegate
\n30. Gadi Katz<\/a> (Israel): Coach, Swimmer and Race Director
\n31. Gary Emich<\/a> (USA): Author, Lesson from Alcatraz, coach and San Francisco Bay aquapreneur
\n32. Gerry Rodrigues<\/a> (USA): Triathlon, Swimming and Open Water Coach and Tower 26 Creator
\n33. Glen Christiansen<\/a> (Sweden): Coach and Masters \/ Elite Swimmer Training Camp Director
\n34. Hans Beenker<\/a> (Netherlands): Race Director, Open Dutch Championships and the LEN Cup in Hoorn, Netherlands
\n35. Henk Verbeke<\/a> (Belgium): Race Director, Damme-Brugge Open Water Swim
\n36. Jack Bright<\/a> (England): Documentary Filmmaker, Coordinator and Extreme Swimmer
\n37. Jamie Patrick<\/a> (USA): Adventure Swimmer
\n38. John Mix<\/a> (USA): Co-founder and President of FINIS
\n39. Jose Diaz<\/a> (Spain): Blogger, Reporter and Coach
\n40. Julian Critchlow<\/a> (England): Vice Chairman, Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation and English Channel Statistician
\n41. Keith Bell<\/a> (USA): Race Director, Author, Psychologist and Founder, American Swimming Association
\n42. Kester Edwards<\/a> (USA): Board Member, Special Olympics International and Coordinator for Leadership Development and Education, Special Olympics International
\n43. Kevin Murphy<\/a> (England): Prolific marathon swimmer, Honorary Secretary, Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation and President, International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame
\n44. Kiril Todorov<\/a> (Mexico): President, Mexican Swimming Federation
\n45. Ky Hurst<\/a> (Australia): 2-time Olympic Swimmer and Australian Surf Lifesaving Champion
\n46. Lewis Gordon Pugh<\/a>, OIG (South Africa): Pioneer Swimmer, Motivational Speaker, Environmental Campaigner
\n47. Marcellus Wiley<\/a> (USA): ESPN Commentator and Learn-to-swim Advocate
\n48. Marcos Diaz<\/a> (Dominican Republic): Adventure Swimmer for United Nations and Motivational Speaker
\n49. Mark Perry<\/a> (England): British Development and National Team Head Coach of Open Water Swimming for British Swimming
\n50. Martin Cullen<\/a> (Ireland): Observer, Race Organizer and Member, Irish Long Distance Swimming Association
\n51. Martin Strel<\/a> (Slovenia): Big River Man
\n52. Martin Suzan<\/a> (England): Swim Course Group Leader, Olympic Triathlon and the Water Safety Officer for the Olympic Marathon Swimming 10km
\n53. Mel Stewart<\/a> (USA): Filmmaker, Swimming Authority and Gold Medal Mel creator
\n54. Michael Oram<\/a> (England): English Channel Pilot and Chairman, Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation
\n55. Michael Read MBE<\/a> (England): President, Channel Swimming Association
\n56. Mohamed Marouf<\/a> (Canada\/Egypt): Coach of Swimming Canada
\n57. Ned Denison<\/a> (Ireland): Administrator, Cork Distance Week Organizer and Motivator
\n58. Nejib Belhedi<\/a> (Tunisia): Event Director and Channel and Adventure Swimmer
\n59. Nelson Vargas<\/a> (Mexico): Race Director, Swimming Benefactor and Owner, Acu\u00e1tica nelsonvargas
\n60. Nick Adams<\/a> (England): Channel Swimmer and President, Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation
\n61. Niek Kloots<\/a> (Netherlands): Race Official \/ Director and Webmaster and Co-founder, European Open Water Swimming
\n62. Nino Fazio<\/a> (Italy): Historian, Coach, Administrator of Baiadigrotta in the Strait of Messina
\n63. Patrick Winkler<\/a> (Brazil): Publisher, The Swim Channel Magazine
\n64. Paul Asmuth<\/a> (USA): Coach, Advisor to USA Swimming National Team Head Coach, and Open Water Chief of the Mission
\n65. Paul Ellercamp<\/a> (Australia): Owner and operator, OceanSwims.com
\n66. Paul Newsome<\/a> (England): Founder and Head Coach, Swim Smooth
\n67. Pedro Rego Monteiro<\/a> (Brazil): Founder, Effect Sports and Race Director, King and Queen of the Sea
\n68. Petar Stoychev<\/a> (Bulgaria): 3-time Olympian and Member, FINA Athletic Commission and FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee
\n69. Peter Bales<\/a> (South Africa): Organiser, Observer, and Co-founder and Chairman, Cape Long Distance Swimming Association
\n70. Peter van Vooren<\/a> (Belgium): Chairman, Channel Swimming Association and Board Member, International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame
\n71. Phil White<\/a> (USA): Race Director and Founder, Northeast Kingdom Open Water Swimming Association
\n72. Philip Rush<\/a> (New Zealand): World Record Holder in English Channel, National Team Coach and Coach\/manager for Cook Strait crossings
\n73. Pierre Lafontaine<\/a> (Canada): CEO and National Coach, Swimming Canada
\n74. Radek Taborsky<\/a> (Czech Republic): Coach and Administrator, Czech Republic Swimming Federation
\n75. Rafael Guti\u00e9rrez Mesa<\/a> (Spain): President, Asociaci\u00f3n de Cruce A Nado Del Estrecho De Gibraltar (Strait of Gibraltar Swimming Association)
\n76. Ram Barkai<\/a> (South Africa): Extreme Swimmer, Race Director and Founder, International Ice Swimming Association
\n77. Richard Broer<\/a> (Netherlands): Board Director, International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, Coach and Manager, European Open Water Swimming website
\n78. Richard Shoulberg<\/a> (USA): Coach and Safety Advocate
\n79. Rob Dumouchel<\/a> (USA): Swimmer, Documentarist and Blogger
\n80. Rob Kent<\/a> (Canada): Founder of the L.O.S.T. Lake Ontario Swim Team
\n81. Ronnie Wong Man Chiu<\/a> (Hong Kong): Honorary Secretary, Hong Kong Amateur Swimming Association and Chairman, FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee
\n82. Salvatore Cimmino<\/a> (Italy): Amputee Swimmer and Advocate for the Physically Disabled
\n83. Santosh Raut<\/a> (India): Chairman, Long Distance Swimming Association of India
\n84. Scott Rice<\/a> (New Zealand): Founder and President, Quantum Events that organizes the 6-race New Zealand Ocean Swim Series
\n85. Scott Zornig<\/a> (USA): President, Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association
\n86. Simon Griffiths<\/a> (England): Publisher, Founder and Editor, H2Open Magazine
\n87. Simon Murie<\/a> (England): Founder and Head Coach, SwimTrek
\n88. Stephane Lecat<\/a> (France): Board member, International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame
\n89. Stephen Millar<\/a> (Ireland): Race Organiser and Chairman, Irish Long Distance Swimming Association
\n90. Stephen Redmond<\/a> (Ireland): Marathon Swimmer
\n91. Terry Laughlin<\/a> (USA): Coach and Founder, Total Immersion
\n92. Thomas Lurz<\/a> (Germany): Bronze Medalist and Olympic Marathon Swimming 10km gold medal favorite
\n93. Tim Moxey<\/a> (England): CEO of blueseventy and Creator of nuun
\n94. Vicko \u0160oljan<\/a> (Croatia): Founder, Croatian Long Distance Swimming Federation and Race Director, Faros Marat\u00f3n
\n95. Vito Bialla<\/a> (USA): Founder, Farallon Islands Swimming Federation, Escort Pilot and Swimmer
\n96. Vojislav Mijic<\/a> (Serbia): Race Director, Sabac Swim Marathon
\n97. Wayne Riddin<\/a> (South Africa): Race Director, aQuell\u00e9 Midmar Mile, the world's largest race
\n98. William Shultz<\/a> (Alaska): Founder and Race Director, Pennock Island Challenge
\n99. Yutaka Shinozaki<\/a> (Japan): Founder, Japan International Open Water Swimming Association
\n100. Zacharias Alexandrakis<\/a> (Greece): Coach, head of lifeguards and creator of Marathon Swimming Greece website
\n101. Zouheir El Moufti<\/a> (Morocco): Secretary General, Royal Moroccan Federation of Swimming and FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee member<\/p>\n