Merle Liivand loves swimming in the Big Blue as a multiple Guinness World Record holder in distance monofin marathon swimming.

On March 16th 2025, she was knighted by the Sovereign Constantinian Order of Cappadocia which was created by the Roman Emperor Constantine I to honor his most valiant warriors after winning the battle at Milvian Bridge in Rome on October 28, 312 A.D. He bestowed this Order with the Principality of Cappadocia, an annexed Roman Province near Constantinople, Turkey.

But she also has some blue blood – with some Baltic German royalty and Polish-Lithuanian royalty in her lineage.

Her new title is now Lady Merle Liivand.

She was recently honored as one of the 100 Faces of Impact around the world. The Faces of Impact honor transformative leaders, visionaries, and changemakers who are shaping our world through meaningful contributions, specifically those individuals whose achievements and dedication to social causes inspire both local and global communities.

Lady Liivand joins a list of open water swimmers who have been honored by their governments for their contributions.

The current list includes many honorees in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame and International Swimming Hall of Fame as well as many other luminaries in the world of open water swimming:

Great Britain

• Colleen Blair, MBE (Great Britain)
• Dr. Julie Bradshaw, MBE (Great Britain)
• Sir William “Billy” Edmund Butlin (Great Britain)
• Lord George Gordon Byron (Great Britain)
• Commander Gerald Forsberg, OBE, Master Mariner, FNI, Royal Navy (Retired) (Great Britain)
• Right Honourable Captain William J. Long, OBE (Great Britain)
• Ethel ‘Sunny’ Lowry, MBE (Great Britain)
• Sally Anne Minty-Gravett, MBE (Great Britain, shown above)
• Michael P. Read, MBE (Great Britain)
• Dr. Robert Christopher Stockdale, MBE (Great Britain)
• Alison Streeter, MBE (Great Britain)
• Freda Streeter, MBE (Great Britain)
• Paula Craig, MBE (Great Britain)
• Jack Snowdon, MBE (Great Britain)
• Susie Rodgers, MBE (Great Britain)
• Brenda Fisher, BEM (Great Britain)

Canada

• Dr. Vicki Keith CM, O. Ont., LLD, ChPC (Canada)
• Cliff Lumsdon, CM, O.Ont. (Canada)
• Cynthia Nicholas, CM (Canada)
• Gus Ryder, CM (Canada)

Australia

• Susan Jean Maroney OAM (Australia)
• Linda McGill, MBE, OAM (Australia)
• David O’Brien, OAM (Australia)
• Des Renford, MBE, OAM, OHS (Australia)
• Kingsley Bugarin, OAM (Australia)
• Michael George Klim, OAM (Australia)
• Iain Murray Rose, AM (Australia)
• Grant Hackett, OAM (Australia)
• Hayley Jane Lewis, OAM (Australia)

Hong Kong

• Ronnie Man Chiu Wong, BBS, JP (Hong Kong)

Hungary

• Attila Mányoki, Hungarian Golden Cross of Merit (Hungary, shown above)
• Éva Risztov, Hungarian Silver Cross of Merit, Order of Merit of Hungary – Officer’s Cross (Hungary)

Italy

• Martina Grimaldi, Cavaliere della Repubblica (Italy, shown below)

Netherlands

• Richard Broer, Orde van Oranje-Nassau (Netherlands)
• Ferry Weertman, Orde van Oranje-Nassau (Netherlands, shown above)
• Sharon van Rouwendaal, Orde van Oranje-Nassau (Netherlands, shown above)
• Edith van Dijk, PhD, Orde van Oranje-Nassau (Netherlands)

Brazil

• Abilio Alvaro Da Costa Couto,  Baron of Sorano (Brazil)

Serbia

• Vojislav Mijić, Meritorious Sportsman

South Africa

• Lewis Pugh, OIG (Great Britain, shown above)
• Natalie du Toit, OIG, MBE (South Africa, shown below sitting down on Olympic 10K Marathon Swim start pontoon)

India

• Taranath Narayan Shenoy, Padma Shri (India)
• Mihir Sen, Padma Shree, Padma Bhushan (India)
• Bula Chowdhury Chakraborty, Padma Shri, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (India)
• Shri Mayur J. Mehta, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (India)
• Barkha Kishore Kedia, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (India)
• C N Janaki, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (India)
• Chhavi Madan, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (India)
• Gunjan Parulkar, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (India)
• Rupali Ramdas Repale, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, National Youth Award (India)
• Sufyan Sheikh, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (India)
• Bhakti Sharma, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (India)
• Paramvir Singh, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (India)
• Ritu Kishor Kedia, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (India)
• Rohan Dattatrey More, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (India)
• Prabhat Raju Koli, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (India)
• Satendra Singh Lohiya, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (India)

Pakistan/Bangladesh

• Brojen Das, Presidential Pride of Performance (Pakistan), Independence Award (Bangladesh)

Definitions

MBE: The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service.

OBE: The Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is the second highest ranking Order of the British Empire award (excluding a knighthood/damehood), behind CBE but ahead of MBE.

CM: The Order of Canada is the cornerstone of the Canadian Honours System and recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community, and service to the nation. The Order recognizes people in all sectors of Canadian society.

OAM: The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. In the General Division, Service worthy of particular recognition.

AM: The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. In the General Division, Service in a particular locality or field of activity or to a particular group.

OHS is a Papal knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (granted to Des Renford by Pope John Paul II).

BBS: The Bronze Bauhinia Star ((Chinese: 銅紫荊星章, BBS) is the lowest rank in Order of the Bauhinia Star in Hong Kong, created in 1997 to replace the British honours system of the Order of the British Empire after the transfer of sovereignty to People’s Republic of China and the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

JP:  Justices of the Peace are essentially titles of honour given by the Hong Kong Government to community leaders, and to certain officials while they are in their terms of offices.

The Hungarian Cross of Merit (Hungarian: Magyar Érdemkereszt) is the fifth highest State Order of Hungary. Until 2011, the order was awarded the called the Cross of Merit of the Republic of Hungary.

The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italian: Cavaliere della Repubblica) is the senior Italian order of merit.

The Orde van Oranje-Nassau (English: The Order of Orange-Nassau) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to everyone who has performed acts of special merits for society.

OIG: The Order of Ikhamanga is a South African honour granted by the President of South Africa for achievements in arts, culture, literature, music, journalism, and sports (which were initially recognised by the Order of the Baobab). Gold (OIG) is for exceptional achievement.

Padma Shri (IAST: padma śrī), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India that is conferred in recognition of distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity including the arts, education, industry, literature, science, acting, medicine, social service and public affairs.

The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India given for distinguished service of a high order…without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex. The award criteria include service in any field including service rendered by Government servants including doctors and scientists.

The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, formerly known as the National Adventure Awards, is the highest adventure sports honour of the Republic of India, awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for outstanding achievement in the field of adventure activities on land, sea and air.

The Presidential Pride of Performance (Urdu: تمغہِ حسنِ کارکردگی) is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, and nursing. 

The Independence Award (Bengali: স্বাধীনতা পদক), also termed Swadhinata Padak and Swadhinata Puroskar, is the highest state award given by the government of Bangladesh to Bangladeshi citizens or organizations in recognition of substantial contribution to one of many fields, including the War of Liberation, the Language Movement, education, literature, journalism, public service, science and technology, medical science, social science, song, games and sports, fine arts, rural development, and other areas.

© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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