Morrie Chiang of Taiwan was among the 15 selected nominees for the 2012
World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year that were announced today.
The World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year honors the person who (1) best embodies the spirit of open water swimming, (2) possesses the sense of adventure, tenacity and perseverance that open water swimmers are known for, and (3) has most positively influenced the world of open water swimming during the year.
His nomination from the World Open Water Swimming Association reads,
“Morrie Chiang thinks big. Gigantically humungous. Chiang imagines an open water swimming world on a scale larger than anyone else in the world. His expectations and ability to execute the world’s largest open water swimming event are off the charts and unprecedented. Chiang’s planning, preparation, and precautions are the threads that weave together the remarkable Sun Moon Lake International Swimming Carnival (Jih Yueh Tan in Taiwanese) where over 25,000 individuals participate in a 3.3 km cross-lake swim in central Taiwan. The swim is not a competitive race; it is a mass participation extravaganza that is the largest celebration of open water swimming on Planet Earth. For his ability to motivate thousands to swim, for his ability to organize a safe environment for people from all ages and walks of life, for his imagination to think big, Morrie Chiang is a worthy nominee as the 2012 WOWSA Open Water Swimming Man of the Year.”
The 2012 nominees are (listed in alphabetical order of their first name):
1. Benjamin Schulte (Guam) – Fearless Olympic Marathoner
2. Craig Dietz (USA) – The Limbless Waterman
3. Colin Hill (Great Britain) – Olympic Showman
4. Doug Woodring (Hong Kong) – Ocean Environmentalist
5. Milko van Gool (Netherlands) – Humanitarian Swimmer
6. Oussama Mellouli (Tunisia) – Olympic Champion
7. Pierre Lafontaine (Canada) – Able & Ambitious Administrator
8. Ram Barkai (South Africa) – Mindful Ice Man
9. Salvatore Cimmino (Italy) – Swimming in the Seas of the Globe
10. Stephen Redmond (Ireland) – Oceans Seven Pioneer
11. Thomas Lurz (Germany) – Ambassador and Gentleman
12. Trent Grimsey (Australia) – English Channel Record Breaker
13. Wayne Riddin (South Africa) – Midmar Mile Director
14. Wayne Soutter (South Africa) – The Unthinkable
15. Yunfeng Wang (Taiwan) – Sun Lake Moon Director
Online voting will take place here at WOWSA until December 31st.
Chiang is the director of the Sun Moon Lake International Swimming Carnival, the world’s large mass participation open water swim held in central Taiwan in the Sun Moon Lake.
Copyright © 2012 by Open Water Source