2020 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year Nominees

Courtesy of World Open Water Swimming Association, Huntington Beach, California.

WOWSA Awards
World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year

1. Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil)
2. Anna-Carin Nordin (Sweden)
3. Bárbara Hernández Huerta (Chile)
4. Cath Pendleton (Wales)
5. Chloë McCardel (Australia)
6. Jaimie Monahan (USA)
7. Kyra Wijnker (Netherlands)
8. Mariel Hawley Dávila (Mexico)
9. Sarah Thomas (USA)
10. Susan Simmons (Canada)
11. TBD
12. TBD

1. Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil)
Ana Marcela Cunha

2. Anna-Carin Nordin (Sweden)

3. Bárbara Hernández Huerta (Chile)
Bárbara Hernández Huerta is known as the Sirena de Hielo (Ice Mermaid) in her native Chile where she specializes in glacier swimming, winter swimming and high-altitude swimming. This year, she completed the 45.9 km 20 Bridges Swim around Manhattan Island in 7 hours 59 minutes to achieve the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming as well as completed an unprecedented 7.5 km high-altitude swim across Chungará Lake in the Andes Mountains in 10°C water in 2 hours 11 minutes at 4,517 meters in altitude. The child and adolescent psychologist also pioneered a 9.5 km course across the Beagle Channel in 1 hour 55 minutes in 7.8°C water and won the 30-39 age group in the 2019-2020 International Winter Swimming Association World Cup. For her adventurous spirit and passionate love of extreme swimming in all its various forms, for her sharing of her swims in dramatic venues on social media and on television, and for her inexhaustible joy that is clearly evident before, during and after her swims in cold water, Bárbara Hernández Huerta is worthy nominees for the 2020 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.​

4. Cath Pendleton (Wales)
In a most unusual year, Catherine Pendleton, known as The Merthyr Mermaid, found an equally unusual path to become famous. Her quiet, matter-of-fact ambitions in cold water swimming, her eloquent, easy-to-grasp descriptions of her adventures in the Southern Ocean of Antarctica and inside the Polar Circle in Russia, her realistic understanding of the difficult challenges that she set for herself, and her passionate dedication to acclimate properly to The Ice was more than sufficient for her to become the protagonist in a BBC One documentary film. In January, the 48-year-old completed her 7th Ice Mile in Morocco and then, in March, became the first person to complete a Zero Ice Mile in 0.03°C water and -3.20°C air in 32 minutes 54 seconds in Antarctica. For representing the Ice Swimming community so well and so authentically on BBC and in the media, for achieving the first Zero Ice Mile inside the Antarctic Polar Circle in rough water conditions during the Antarctica 2020 International Swim, and for thoroughly and constantly enjoying her journey with a bright smile and a deep sense of gratitude for her supporters, sponsors and seconds, Cath Pendleton is a worthy nominee for the 2020 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.

5. Chloë McCardel (Australia)
43 is one of the most iconic records in the sporting world. 43 or the number of English Channel crossings by Alison Streeter, MBE was once considered an unassailable standard, a far-out world record that would stand the test of time. But Chloë McCardel continued to get closer and closer to reaching the standard set by the Queen of the Channel® with her 37th career English Channel crossing. As her channel crossings increase, so does her charity work for a number of causes, including those to fight domestic violence, and her reach to corporations in the financial and information technology industries, conferences, schools and organizations. The personable 35-year-old serves as an inspiration for business and education leaders and a mentor and an escort crew member for swimmers from all walks of life and ages, and the ambassador for a number of charitable causes. For completing 6 English Channel crossings in 3 months including 4 crossings in 16 days in a shortened 2020 season, for speaking on television, online conferences and seminars on a number of topics to a wide variety of audiences all based on her marathon swimming experiences, for constantly serving as one of the most visible, highly sought-after and public ambassadors in the global open water swimming community, Chloë McCardel is a worthy nominee for the 2019 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.

6. Jaimie Monahan (USA)
Jaimie Monahan barrels on swimming longer and colder, all with a wide smile and many words of heartfelt gratitude for her escort team. The 41-year-old from New York continues to be able to push herself further and further into the extreme, while always staying humble and ever adventurous. In a shortened 2020 swim season she modified her usual globetrotting schedule and swam closer to home. She completed an incredible total of 18 circumnavigation swims around Manhattan Island, including history’s first Quadruple Manhattan Swim, a 184 km solo swim in 45 hours 24 minutes. She remains ready to help others, giving practical advice and inspirational messages to others, serving as one of the most accessible icons in the sport of marathon swimming, winter swimming and ice swimming. For completing twenty-nine 45.9 km circumnavigation swims around Manhattan Island over her career that has no sign of slowing, for pushing the limits with her local Mannahatta Project that complements her career of completing the Ice Sevens, 9 Ice Miles and dozens of marathon swims around the world, and for becoming the Queen of Manhattan despite a year of limited opportunities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jaimie Monahan is a worthy nominee for the 2020 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.

7. Kyra Wijnker (Netherlands)
Building on two good years in 2018 and 2019, Kyra Wijnker started out fast – very fast – in the 2020 season. Before the International Ice Swimming Association season was cancelled, the 22-year-old Dutch phenom was able to win the Ice Kilometer at the Amstel IISA Netherlands Championships and at the Cheltenham IISA Great Britain Championships and finish 2nd in the Ice Kilometer in Vietsbroon at the IISA Germany Championships. At the Amstel Ice Swim, she was the second fastest 1000m swimmer overall, only slightly behind Christof Wandratsch. At the Ice Swimming Volendam, she was slightly behind overall winner Fergil Hesterman. At the IISA Great Britain Championships, she was a close third overall behind Wandratsch and James Leitch. At the Open Dutch Championship / Green Heart Ice Swim, she was only 1.5 seconds behind overall winner Fergil Hesterman. For starting out her third International Ice Swimming Association World Cup season so strongly with several victories, for swimming so quickly and pushing the top men on the World Cup circuit, and for maintaining such a positive attitude throughout the shutdown and working towards next season, Kyra Wijnker of the Netherlands is a worthy nominee for the 2020 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.

8. Mariel Hawley Dávila (Mexico)
for the Cruce de Bahía de Banderas

9. Sarah Thomas (USA)

10. Susan Simmons (Canada)
Susan Simmons (Canada)
In an unprecedented challenging year, Susan Simmons stepped up in a huge way, characteristically with her selfless, humble, compassionate demeanor. The 55-year-old from British Columbia shifted her focus from her own marathon solo swimming career to coaching, mentoring and guiding the Spirit Orcas, a group of Special Olympic swimmers who did an 80 km 8-week stage swim in Canada to raise funds for COVID Relief. Despite living with Multiple Sclerosis, she swam every stroke on the way with the Spirit Orcas in addition to encouraging them and celebrating with them. For safely increasing the distance in her second difficult swim with the Spirit Orcas, for positively dealing with MS while shepherding along her swimmers, for safely achieving her goals with Cheyenne Furlong Goos, Meliah Motchman, Maria Sharock, Aly White, Dixon McGowan, Drew Sabourin, Ben Vanlierop, and Lidia White, Susan Simmons is a worthy nominee for the 2020 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.​

11. TBD

12. TBD

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