Over a decade ago in an online forum, an open water swimmer stated, “Open water is the template, pool swimming is the unnatural imposition.”

Humans have bathed and swum in oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, and bays for many millennium long before they built rectangular concrete boxes filled with chlorinated water.

This observation reminded me of the book, The History of Olympic Swimming, Volume 1: 1896-1936, by Peter Daland and Phil Whitten, PhD. The carefully researched book describes the athletes, venues, conditions, and background of the open water swimming events at the 1989 Athens Olympics, 1900 Paris Olympics, 1904 St. Louis Olympics, and 1906 Athens Olympics, “The water in each of these primitive courses was extremely cold and unclear.”

The authors transitioned from the open water courses in the early years of the Olympics to the pool that was set inside the 1908 London Olympic stadium by describing the “unfiltered water that was dark and cold” and the 1912 Stockholm Olympics pool “that was constructed in the cold water of Djurgardsbrunnviken, a waterway open to the sea just outside of Stockholm.”

Over all the decades of reading and writing about swimming – whether in the open water or the pool – there was one person who consistently set the bar of excellence on every aspect of swimming whose his prose was almost lyrical: Phil Whitten. Whether he was talking or writing about competitions in the Aegean Sea in 1896 or in the pool in Atlanta in 1996, Whitten was a master of his craft which took him from the pool at San Jose State to the halls of Harvard University where he taught.

Dr. Whitten was an Honor Contributor in the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame [see his Class of 2005 induction here]. He was a great conversationist who made you laugh and ponder big thoughts while his writing was concurrently analytical, insightful, and colorful.

Sadly, he passed away on August 15th after a long battle.

Coach Gerry Rodrigues of Tower 26 wrote beautifully about his friend:

In Memory of Phil Whitten: Understated, Cool, and Brilliant

My dear friend and former work associate, Phil Whitten, passed away today. Phil was the editor-in-chief of Swimming World, SWIM, and Swimming Technique magazines. What a coincidence… his passing comes on the very day the Pacific Palisades reopens after the fires. It is the place we first met, and where his son, Russell, went to high school in the mid-1980s. Although our friendship was nearly four decades young, it felt like I’d known him for a lifetime.

THE GENTLEMAN

Phil had a genuine and gentle way about him—always approachable and easy to connect with. It is no wonder he still had so many friends from his days as a college student and professor, alongside the massive swimming family he interacted with for multiple decades.

Never the type to brag or self-praise, Phil was unlike many former Harvard students who feel compelled to let you know they went to Harvard.

One had to dig it out of him, only then to find he held an interdisciplinary Ph.D. He also taught at Harvard and Bentley College, receiving outstanding teaching awards from both institutions.

That is what I enjoyed most about him: he was completely understated and cool.

My senior by almost 20 years, we giggled like school kids whenever we were on the phone or visiting in person. Business calls were strictly to the point when he was chief editor and I was co-publisher. But personal calls were another story, easily lasting 60 to 120 minutes. He was genuinely curious, inquisitive, and probably the funniest man I knew. We chatted on politics, his mission to better humanity, and his infinite intelligence on a multitude of topics.

I recall a lengthy conversation one evening abruptly ending when he realized his wife, Donna, was almost home and he’d promised to have the place cleaned up. Timelines were never his strength, but he deeply loved that woman. Donna was extraordinary for Phil; she truly raised his personal bar. She contacted me immediately when she learned of his passing, as we had stayed connected over the years while I kept up on Phil.

DEADLINES & THE IGNITING BOMB

You’d think as the chief editor of three publications and the author of nearly two dozen books, he’d have respect for deadlines. NOT AT ALL.

Every terrific writer is always hoping this is the story to go BIG—waiting for some last-minute bomb to land that completely ignites the narrative. That was Phil to a T.

I had to referee many disputes between management and Phil due to his deadline tardiness. But I “got” Phil. I understood what made him tick and loved him for it. He was impassioned by his job and the quality of his work. He was the one true friend I had when running those magazines.

A writer only needs a single BIG one—just ask Woodward on Watergate.

In 1994, Phil landed his. It was a really BIG one. A world story, not just a swimming story, but a worldwide journalistic masterpiece.

The East Germans were slaughtering world swim records and winning races at a high frequency. Their country’s athletics had exploded in the late 1970s and dominated for a bit over a decade. We all suspected doping, but we had no hard evidence. And then, in 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, and East and West Germany united as one.

Phil, with his characteristic brilliance, saw his chance. He had developed close relationships with many sports personnel within the newly united Germany. As a true journalist, he never revealed his sources, but he managed to get a hold of the declassified Stasi files. It was definitive proof showing that the secret police had hidden files from both athletes and their parents regarding systematic, state-sponsored doping through anabolic steroids.

Swimming World Magazine was the first to publish these documents. Accompanying Phil’s story in 1994, they were released after he painstakingly reviewed thousands of files on athletes, coaches, and doctors.

The story made international news, staying relevant for a long time as the world absorbed the staggering depth of the deception.

Interestingly, those same East German coaches and doctors later moved to China and were responsible for the quick rise of Chinese athletics, particularly their swimmers. Once again, Phil was the journalist exposing it, accompanied by his international doping-review journalist panel. Phil’s brilliance brought down yet another major international scandal.

SPARRING, PROFESSIONALISM & HUMOR

Phil and I had many fun sparring matches. He’d tease me about being from the “Third World” and rolling off a grapefruit truck. I’d retort by telling him he looked like Hugh Hefner, just subbing silk robes for Speedos.

Whenever I wrote a few articles for the magazines, he’d send me an email poking fun at my Trinidadian heritage: “Ah glad yuh doh rite mor, uddarwise people en go undastan wha yuh sayin. Keep yuh brains on de biz, let meh do de ritin.”

Business has a way of going sour at times. Eventually, both Phil and I were gone, and a new competitor to Swimming World emerged.

Jointly, we had squashed the first major competitor—a monster media empire—in the late 1990s.

Regrettably, with Phil being used less and eventually subtracted entirely, Swimming World went into an editorial decline. It never regained its panache.

To this day, I believe Phil Whitten was the absolute best thing to ever happen to the editorial side of those swimming magazines. History has certainly pointed in that direction.

To Phil: Oh Captain! My Captain!

Today I swam 83 x 50s in your honor. Why? Because you loved 50s. I did them all for you. It would have been your 83rd birthday in just a few days, and knowing how fiercely competitive you were, you deserved that 83rd 50.

With much love and respect, my friend. I’ll meet you on the other side.

© 2026 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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

World Open Water Swimming Federation, an exclusively human-powered project.