Ned Denison, chairperson of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, formally inducted Leonie Beck as an Honor Swimmer in the IMSHOF Class of 2024.
One of the heavy favorites for the 2024 Paris Olympics 10 km marathon swim in July, she was honored today in Cancún, Mexico – along with the following luminaries of the sport:
- Penny Lee Dean, EdD – ISHOF Poseidon Award
- Massimo Giuliani – ISHOF Irving Davids/Captain Roger W. Wheeler Memorial Award
- Melissa Cunningham Roberts – The Dale Petranech Award for Services to IMSHOF
- Leonie Beck, Honor Swimmer, Germany, 2024
- Ros Hardiman, Honor Swimmer, Great Britain, 2024
- Allan do Carmo, Honor Swimmer, Brazil, 2024
- Sam Greetham, Honor Administrator, Great Britain, 2024
- Catherine Vogt Kase, Honor Coach, United States of America, 2024
- Lynton Mortensen, Honor Swimmer, Australia, 2024
- Pauline Jackson, Honor Administrator, United States of America, 2024
- Dr. Evgenij Pop Acev, Honor Swimmer, Macedonia
- Courtney Moates Paulk, Honor Swimmer, USA
- Arianna Bridi, Honor Swimmer, Italy
- Suzanne Heim-Bowen, Honor Swimmer, USA
- Dan Simonelli, Honor Coach, USA
- Simone Ruffini, Honor Swimmer, Italy
Antonia Leonie Beck
The 26-year-old German professional marathon swimmer has won 2 Majors so far in her career: the 2023 World Aquatics 10 km world championship race and 2020 FINA Marathon Swim World Series Cup. She has competed on the World Aquatics (formerly FINA) circuit in 13 countries – winning 8 gold medals, 3 silver medals, and 4 bronze medals to date.
In 25 elite international races she entered, she has taken a podium position 40% of the time. Her wins in the 10 km World Aquatics World Cup include:
- 2023 Italy and Egypt
- 2021 Abu Dhabi
- 2020 Doha
Beck was fifth in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic marathon swim and second in the 2022 FINA World Championships 10 km. Her silver medals were won in Doha and China in 2018 and bronze medals in Israel in 2022 and in Hungary in 2019.
At the World Aquatics World Championships, she won the 5 km in 2023 and captured a bronze medal in 2019. She was part of Germany’s 6 km team relay gold and won gold medals in 10 km LEN Championships in 2022, in Denmark and Spain in 2017, and Italy in 2022.
Steven Munatones said, “Leonie has been gradually and steadily rising to the top. From her Top 10 finish at the 2019 FINA World Championships to finishing fifth at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Then in 2022, she upset a group of world champions at the FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim World Series event in Qatar. The next year, she won the 2023 World Aquatics 10 km world championship race and she is entering the 2024 Olympic year as one of the gold medal favorites.
What makes the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame such an unusual Hall of Fame is the fact that many inductees continue on in the sport, continuing to win championships, set records, and swim fast and far. Many pundits in the sport expect the same with Leonie for the foreseeable future – with a possibility of an Olympic gold.“
2022 World Championships 10 km race:
© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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