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1991, The Year Sports Changed. Men vs. Women In The Open Water

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Prelude

Australian 7-time professional marathon swimming champion Shelley Taylor-Smith (MSF bio here) is shown above in the Atlantic Ocean behind her handler Nancy Schnarr on a rowboat during the 36 km Atlantic City Around the Island Swim held in New Jersey, USA in 1991. She won the professional marathon swimming race overall, beating Americans Jay Wilkerson of the USA who finished second and Diego Degano of Argentina who finished third.

Taylor-Smith won over a stellar field with 10 of the 15 swimmers eventually inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame as Honor Swimmers.

1991 Atlantic City Around-the-Island Swim Results

  1. Shelley Taylor-Smith, Australia 7:12:34
  2. Jay Wilkerson, USA 7:13:33
  3. Diego Degano, Argentina 7:18:11
  4. Paul Asmuth, USA 7:27:45
  5. James Kegley, USA 7:30:15
  6. Gustavo Oriozabala, Argentina 7:32:08
  7. Charlie Fry, USA 7:36:12
  8. Claudio Plit, Argentina 7:38:26
  9. Fernando Fleitas, Argentina 7:42:11
  10. Marian Cassidy, USA 7:43:33
  11. Fernando Terrilli, Argentina 7:45:53
  12. David Alleva, USA 7:54:47
  13. Julio Fernandez, Argentina 8:11:06
  14. Christof Wandratsch, Germany 8:12:36
  15. Igor de Souza, Brazil 8:19:15

This race was part of a story that led to women’s fortunes and opportunities in open water swimming changing – dramatically and significantly – in 1992.

Background – the Year 1991

January 1991 saw the 6th FINA World Championships take place in Perth, Western Australia.

It was the first time that open water swimming was added as a discipline to the FINA World Aquatics Championship schedule.  The World Championships held a 25 km marathon swim in Perth’s Swan River in Western Australia. American Chad Hundeby beat Italian Sergio Chariandini and Australian David O’Brien, while Taylor-Smith of Australia beat Americans Martha Jahn and Karen Burton in a race where jellyfish plagued the entire field of 26 men and 19 women.

1991 FINA World Championships 25 km Race Men’s Results

  1. Chad Hundeby, USA 5:01:46
  2. Sergio Chariandini, Italy 5:03:19
  3. David O’Brien, Australia 5:08:53
  4. Nace Majcen, Slovenia 5:13:08
  5. Jay Wilkerson, USA 5:15:20
  6. Roberto Faccinetti, Italy 5:16:14
  7. Christof Wandratsch, Germany 5:18:44
  8. Peter Galvin, Australia 5:19:28
  9. Dragan Kvrgić, Yugoslavia 5:20:32
  10. Greg Streppel, Canada 5:22:52
  11. Martijn van Heusden 5:24:07
  12. Attila Molnar, Hungary 5:26:21
  13. Justin Palfrey 5:29:40
  14. Michal Sanda, Czechslovakia 5:31:35
  15. Jaime Gavaid 5:33:03
  16. Mauricio Buczmiejuk 5:33:13
  17. Dusan Toth Szabo, Hungary 5:38:17
  18. Marc Newman, Great Britain 5:40:46
  19. Erik van Dartel 5:41:31
  20. Michal Spacek 5:46:53
  21. Ricardo Sperti 5:58:54
  22. Jordi Cervera 6:02:31
  23. Mohammed Abdel 6:04:07
  24. Nazr Hasabala 6:06:48
  25. Karim Madsen 6:42:30
  26. Taranath Narayan Shenoy, India 7:26:41

1991 FINA World Championships 25 km Race Women’s Results

  1. Shelley Taylor-Smith, Australia 5:21:06
  2. Martha Jahn, USA 5:25:17
  3. Karen Burton Reeder, USA 5:28:23
  4. Rita Kovàcs, Hungary 5:31:33
  5. Elana Resch 5:39:47
  6. Tammy Van Wisse, Australia 5:42:53
  7. Corinne Liedtke 5:48:58
  8. Lenka Pacáková, Czechslovakia 5:57:35
  9. Rita Lazar 6:00:22
  10. Jolanda Palmentieri 6:21:17
  11. Bridget Young 6:25:03
  12. Anita Sood, India 6:26:56
  13. Diana Simonović, Croatia 6:28:21
  14. Christiane Fanzeres, Brazil 6:28:44
  15. Carole Hunt, Great Britain 6:31:20
  16. Marcia Marques 6:36:10
  17. Katarina Mioč 6:40:15
  18. Muna Towe 6:46:09
  19. Daria Amaged 7:23:02

This race kicked off the 1991 professional marathon swimming circuit.

Professional Marathon Swimming Circuit

During that era, the top FINA open water swimmers were also the top professional marathon swimmers who raced for prize money in the world. It was the same group of swimmers who continued the legacy of Abdellatief Abou Heif, John Kinsella, Paul Asmuth, and Claudio Plit.

From Perth, most of top swimmers went on to travel the world, competing in the International Marathon Swimming Association pro circuit. Later in their careers, many went on to cross the English Channel and do a variety of pioneering swims. But the money in the sport (i.e., cash prizes) was in the pro circuit where the swimmers competed in various lakes, seas, bays, and rivers in Brazil, Canada, USA, Italy, Argentina, Australia, and Macedonia.

1991 International Marathon Swimming Federation Pro Circuit

The athletes from around the world competed in the following races:

The 1991 season started and ended in Australia. It started in Western Australia in January and ended at the 30 km Sydney Harbour International Marathon Swim in November where Taylor-Smith won the race overall in 6 hours 59 minutes, a victory that was not only unique, but also led to an important change.

In the season-ending race, Taylor-Smith beat future International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Swimmers David O’Brien (2nd) James Kegley (3rd), Diego Degano (4th), Claudio Plit (5th), Karen Burton (9th), Rita Kovács (10th), Tamara Bruce (12th), and Irene van der Laan (14th).

1991 Sydney Harbour International Marathon Swim Results

  1. Shelley Taylor-Smith, Australia 6:59:38
  2. David O’Brien, Australia 7:03:36
  3. James Kegley, USA 7:08:57
  4. Diego Degano, Argentina unknown time
  5. Dusan Toth Szabo, Hungary unknown time
  6. Claudio Plit, Argentina 7:21:20
  7. Sergio Chariandini, Italy 7:22:46
  8. Jean-François Roussy, Canada 7:27:33
  9. Karen Burton Reeder, USA 7:41:05
  10. Rita Kovács, Hungary 7:43:46
  11. Gisèle Roy, Canada 7:54:57
  12. Tamara Bruce, Australia 8:17:07
  13. Stephen Yates, Australia 8:24:07
  14. Irene van der Laan, Netherlands 8:44:36

The 1991 season-ending rankings were as follows:

  1. Shelley Taylor-Smith, Australia 806 points
  2. Diego Degano, Argentina 725 points
  3. David O’Brien, Australia 616 points
  4. Sergio Chiarandini, Italy 529
  5. Chad Hundeby, USA 496 points
  6. David Alleva, USA 437 points
  7. Christof Wandratsch, Germany 428 points
  8. Fernando Fleitas, Argentina 376 points
  9. Jay Wilkerson, USA 374 points
  10. Jean-François Roussy, Canada 331 points
  11. Claudio Plit, Argentina 296 points
  12. Greg Streppel, Canada 295 points
  13. Paul Asmuth, USA 271 points
  14. James Kegley, USA 245 points
  15. Steve Baird, Canada 196 points
  16. Karen Burton, USA 187 points
  17. Attila Molnar, Hungary 153 points
  18. Gustavo Oriozabala, Argentina, 144 points
  19. Annie Grandisson, Canada 143 points
  20. Diego Fleitas, Argentina 118 points
  21. Andreas Balve, Germany 118 points
  22. Urs Kohlhaas, Switzerland 105 points
  23. Amy Dunleavy, USA 103 points
  24. Dusan Toth Szabo, Hungary 103 points
  25. Rita Kovács, Hungary 102 points
  26. Nace Majcen, Yugoslavia 70 points
  27. Eliana Fieschi, Switzerland 60 points
  28. Irene van der Laan, Holland 60 point
  29. Dario Taraboi, Italy 58 points
  30. Marian Cassidy, USA 55 points
  31. Gisèle Roy, Canada 54 points
  32. Fernando Terrilli, Argentina 53 points
  33. Charlie Fry, USA 47 points
  34. Silvia Dalotto, Argentina 45 points
  35. Roberto Facchinetti, Switzerland 43 points
  36. Tibor Kiss, Hungary 40 points
  37. Peter Galvin, Australia 38 points
  38. Martha Jahn, USA 35 points
  39. Samantha Cavadini, Switzerland 35 points
  40. Hans van Goor, Holland 33 points
  41. Richard Kamas, Czechoslovakia 27 points
  42. Tammy van Wisse, Australia 25 points
  43. Dragan Kvrgic, Yugoslavia 21 points
  44. Igor de Souza, Brazil 15 points
  45. Lenka Pacáková, Czechoslovakia 15 points

So, for example, although Taylor-Smith won the women’s division at the 25 km FINA World Championships in Swan River, she only received 58 points as opposed to 220 points for Chad Hundeby who won the event overall, 161 points for Sergio Chiarandini who placed second, and 98 points for David O’Brien who placed third, and 68 points for Nace Macen who placed fourth. Taylor-Smith finished in the fifth fastest time and so she was only awarded IMSA points for fifth place.

That was how the professional marathon swimming circuit was conducted prior to the 1992 season.

History of Men versus Women, Pre-1992

Up until the 1991 International Marathon Swimming Association season, and all previous World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation seasons dating back to the 1950’s, men and women had competed together, swimming head-to-head. 

The all-time greatest female swimmers in the sport – including Greta Anderson, Judith van Berkel-de Nijs, Sandra Bucha, Penny Dean, Monique Wildschut, and Taylor-Smith – competed shoulder-to-shoulder with the men for the same overall prize money throughout the 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s, and 1980’s.

While the top women usually received a few hundred dollars for being one of the top three women, the women had to swim against men for overall prize money.  While Anderson and de Nijs occasionally won a race over the decades, women rarely won even a podium position.

When Women Beat The Men

Over the decades between the 1950’s and 2025, a span of 75 years, there have been eight races where the top women beat all the men in a professional marathon swim. These races include:

  • Greta Andersen won overall in the 1958 Traversée Internationale du lac St-Jean
  • Greta Anderson won overall in the 1957 Butlins International Cross Channel Swimming Race
  • Greta Anderson won overall in the 1958 Butlins International Cross Channel Swimming Race
  • Judith van Berkel-de Nijs won overall in the 1966 Traversée Internationale du lac St-Jean
  • Shelley Taylor-Smith won overall in the 1991 Sydney Harbour International Marathon Swim
  • Shelley Taylor-Smith won overall in the 1991 Atlantic City Around the Island Swim
  • Shelley Taylor-Smith won overall in the 1992 Atlantic City Around the Island Swim
  • Arianna Bridi and Ana Marcela Cunha went 1-2 in the 2020 Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli

1958 Traversée Internationale du lac St-Jean Results

  1. Greta Anderson, USA 8:17:00
  2. Helge Jensen, Denmark 8:32:0
  3. Régent Lacoursière, Canada 9:03:00
  4. Joanne Florentine, USA 9:4:00
  5. Gérard Caouette, Canada 13:38:00

1957 Butlins International Cross Channel Swimming Race Results

During the 1957 race, the conditions were terrible and only two swimmers out of 23 finished. Andersen won in 13 hours 53 minutes with England’s Kenneth Wray the only other finisher in 16 hours.

1958 Butlins International Cross Channel Swimming Race Results

  1. Greta Andersen, USA 11 hours 59 minutes
  2. Brojen Das, Pakistan 14 hours 52 minutes
  3. Ronald Tarr, Great Britain 15 hours 12 minutes
  4. Raphael Morand, France 16 hours 22 minutes
  5. Ramon Ocana, Mexico 16 hours 57 minutes

1966 Traversée Internationale du lac St-Jean Results

  1. Judith de Nijs, Netherlands 8:38:57
  2. Tom Bucy, USA 8:53:50
  3. Regent Lacoursiere, Canada 8:59:35
  4. Herman Willemse, Netherlands 9:05:39
  5. George Park, Canada 9:44:16
  6. Cliff Lumsdon, Canada 10:30:04
  7. Abdel Latif Abou Heif, Egypt 10:30:04
  8. Kurt Pluntke, Canada 11:05:15
  9. Conrad Corbeil, Canada 11:42:46

1991 Atlantic City Around-the-Island Swim Results

  1. Shelley Taylor-Smith, Australia 7:12:34
  2. Jay Wilkerson, USA 7:13:33
  3. Diego Degano, Argentina 7:18:11
  4. Paul Asmuth, USA 7:27:45
  5. James Kegley, USA 7:30:15
  6. Gustavo Oriozabala, Argentina 7:32:08
  7. Charlie Fry, USA 7:36:12
  8. Claudio Plit, Argentina 7:38:26
  9. Fernando Fleitas, Argentina 7:42:11
  10. Marian Cassidy, USA 7:43:33
  11. Fernando Terrilli, Argentina 7:45:53
  12. David Alleva, USA 7:54:47
  13. Julio Fernandez, Argentina 8:11:06
  14. Christof Wandratsch, Germany 8:12:36
  15. Igor de Souza, Brazil 8:19:15

2020 Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli Results

  1. Arianna Bridi, Italy 6:04:26
  2. Ana Marcela Cunha, Brazil 6:04:27
  3. Marcel Schouten, Netherlands 6:05:07
  4. Matteo Furlan, Italy 6:05:02
  5. Alessio Occhipinti, Italy 6:05:08
  6. Francesco Ghettini, Italy 6:05:08
  7. Allan do Carmo, Brazil 6:06:55
  8. Edoardo Stochino, Italy 6:31:06
  9. Evgenij Pop Acev, Macedonia 6:32:40
  10. Caroline Laure Jouisse, France 6:33:45
  11. Barbara Pozzobon, Italy 6:48:04
  12.  Lara Gherardini, Italy 7:48:39

Obviously, the overall income of the top women paled in comparison to the prize money earned by the men over all those generations.  

But all that changed in 1991.

Changes Made

With Taylor-Smith’s overall victory – the first time in history where a woman beat professional men in a head-to-head season-long competition in all sport – things suddenly changed.

Beginning in the 1992 season, women no longer had to compete against men.  The decision had been made: women had their own category.  From 1992, women would race against women; men would race against men.  More importantly, for women of that era and all future generations, the prize money was equal for both men and women.  So if the top man won US$5,000 for first, so did the top woman.  

Equality in the swimming commuity arrived.

The victory by a single woman over the top professional men in 1991 was the catalyst in the marathon swimming world for equal prize money and equal recognition in the sport.  

This welcomed separation of the genders greatly benefited women in swimming – and that tradition continues to the present.

Women, prior to 1992, fought hard to compete against men…for decades.  They did not complain or protest. She just put their goggles on, their heads down, and raced in the same open bodies of water, on the same courses, at the same time, enduring the same temperatures and distances…while ultimately receiving for less prize money.

Shelley Taylor-Smith achieved what no other woman has achieved in the history of any sport worldwide – to this day over the course of a season or year. Yes, a small number of women have beaten the top men in a race here and there over the decades in distance running or marathon swimming, but in 1991, a woman achieved the No.1 world ranking overall based on a series of 9 races around the world in different conditions and locations held throughout the year. Her singularly unique achievement was the dramatic catalyst that lead to the improved fortunes and opportunities for women in the sport of swimming. 

The end result?

Separate but equal (prize money and opportunities) which was – and is – welcomed and appreciated.

A Legacy Was Born

Taylor-Smith states, “My greatest achievement is not beating men; though I am forever grateful. As a result of competing with men head-to-head, they were overwhelmingly instrumental in me achieving my potential. I know because of this life-changing opportunity, my success set the pathway for women to be treated equally and fairly.”

© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline

World Open Water Swimming Federation project.

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