There are numerous inflection points in the sport of open water swimming. This is a small sampling:

August 25th 1875

• Captain Matthew Webb crosses the English Channel swimming breaststroke in 21 hours 45 minutes

August 6th 1926

• Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to cross the English Channel in 14 hours 39 minutes

January 15th 1927

• George Young becomes the first person to cross the Catalina Channel in 15 hours 44 minutes

September 21st 1927

• The International Professional Swimmers Association was established in Manhattan, New York City 

April 5th 1928

• Mercedes Gleitze becomes the first person to cross the Strait of Gibraltar in 12 hours 50 minutes

August 7th 1987

• Lynne Cox swimming from Alaska to the USSR in the Bering Strait in 2 hours 6 minutes

January 9th 1991

• Shelley Taylor-Smith (5 hours 21 minutes) and Chad Hundeby (5 hours 1 minute) win the inaugural 25 km race at the 6th FINA World Championships in Perth, Australia

February 1999

• Over 10,000 swimmers enter the Midmar Mile for the first time in open water swimming history (after being established in 1973)

2000

• First IWSA Winter Swimming World Championships is held in Finland with 500 participants

August 20th 2008

• Larisa Ilchenko (Russia), Keri-Anne Payne (silver), and Cassandra Patten (bronze) stand on the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim podium at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

August 21st 2008

• Maarten van der Weijden (gold), David Davies (silver), and Thomas Lurz (bronze) stand on the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim podium at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

January 31st 2009

• Ram Barkai completes the first Ice Mile in Lake Zurich, Switzerland in 43 minutes in 4°C water

June 30th 2011

• Andrew Smilley and Cornelia Fowler win the inaugural Special Olympics World Summer Games 1.5 km race in the Bay of Marathon, Greece

June 18th 2011

There was a confluence of four major open water swimming events in New York City over the weekend of June 18th 2011:

• International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and WOWSA Awards at the United Nations Building
• Global Open Water Swimming Conference at Columbia University
• Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (MIMS) organized by Morty Berger

Evan Morrison, who finished third in the MIMS event that weekend, recalls, “2011 was a very special edition of MIMS – arguably the peak of the Morty Berger and NYC Swim era. There was an incredibly strong field, from top to bottom. Former open water world champion Erica Rose and 3-time MIMS champion John Van Wisse went 1-2. Oliver Wilkinson came in 4th – he went on to set the overall course record (which still stands) later that year on a massive tide. And it was the first day many of us heard of Sarah Thomas, who came in 5th. She, of course, went on to a number of amazing swims in the following years.

By my count, 13 other Triple Crowners swam that day: David Smith, Dan Richards, Mike Gregory, Barbara Held, Kris Rutford, Greg O’Connor, Eddie Irwin, Hendrik Meerman, Gábor Molnár, Selina Moreno Pasagali, Courtney Paulk, Mo Siegel, and Jesus Samuel Neri Gutiérrez.

To top it off, the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame induction ceremonies were being held the same weekend at the U.N., so a number of marathon swimming luminaries were present to watch the start and finish, which lent an aura of significance to the whole thing.

It was a very special day that I’ll always be grateful to have been a part of.”)

The 2011 Global Open Water Swimming Conference was held in New York City at Columbia University and the United Nations Building co-organized by Steven Munatones, John Muenzer (the oldest person to complete the Grand Slam of Open Water Swimming, Mike Lewis (who will serve as the play-by-play announcer of the 2024 Paris Olympics 10 km marathon swim), and Damien Jordan. It was combined with the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame induction ceremonies where speakers included Drury Gallagher, Lewis Pugh, OIG, Dr. Annette Salmeen, Wayne Riddin, Sid Cassidy, Shelley Taylor-Smith, Martin Strel, Anne Marie Ward, Jorge Delgado, Michael Read, Simon Murie, Dr. Jim Miller, Doug Woodring, Captain Tim Johnson, Dr. Jane Katz, and Steven Munatones.

The WOWSA Awards winners were also recognized: World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year Marcos Díaz of the Dominican Republic, World Open Water Swimming Women of the Year Anne Marie Ward of Ireland, and the World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year by Ventura Deep Six (Tom Ball, Kurtis Baron, John Chung, Jim McConica, Jim Neitz and Mike Shaffer) of the USA.

The International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame inductees included Drury Gallagher [see his induction speech below], Yuko Matsuzaki, Fran Crippen, Anne Cleveland and Dr. Harry Huffaker where also board members of the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation included John York, Linda Bamford, David Clark, Paula Selby, Carol Sing and Penny Dean with Dale Petranech.

https://youtu.be/Ql06ftzelQY

https://youtu.be/S4oDe808e7k

https://youtu.be/B-0iBgQVF_A

2011 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim Results

1. Erica Rose (28, USA) 7:29:46 [shown below]
2. John Van Wisse (38, Australia) 7:33:50
3. Evan Morrison (31, USA) 7:34:37
4. Oliver Wilkinson (35, Australia) 7:34:47
5. Sarah Thomas (29, USA) 7:36:20
6. Miquel Suñer Comalat (26, Spain) 7:38:02
7. Miguel Arrobas (36, Portugal) 7:45:38
8. David Orders (32, Great Britain) 8:02:39
9. David Smith (45, USA) 8:03:45
10. Dan Richards (54, USA) 8:05:48
11. Michael Gregory (47, Australia) 8:10:52
12. Joe Bakel (49, USA) 8:11:20
13. Guy Moar (43, Australia) 8:11:43
14. Barbara Held (57, USA) 8:12:39
15. Cliff Crozier (50, USA) 8:15:12
16. Kris Rutford (51, USA) 8:18:45
17. Eliz Albritton-McDonald (44, USA) 8:19:18
18. Greg O’Connor (42, USA) 8:20:30
19. Tullio Salvatore (35, Italy) 8:21:18
20. Eddie Irwin (39, Ireland) 8:23:05
21. Hendrik Meerman (48, USA) 8:24:02
22. Gábor Molnár (29, Hungary) 8:30:36
23. Selina Moreno Pasagali (38, Spain) 8:42:09
24. John Gosman (49, USA) 8:43:11
25. Alfredo Carreras (48, Mexico) 8:44:10
26. Eileen Bruke (48, USA) 8:45:56
27. Julie Sheldon (39, USA) 8:46:08
28. Lori Carena (57, USA) 8:56:56
29. Courtney Moates Paulk (41, USA) 8:59:19
30. Mo Siegel (59, USA) 9:01:48
31. Jesus Samuel Neri Gutiérrez (Mexico) 9:06:06
32. Brad McVetta (37, USA) 9:07:03
33. Michael Newton (47, Australia) 9:23:04

For all historical results of circumnavigation swims and races around Manhattan Island, visit Marathon Swimmers Federation LongswimsDB here. Photo of Erica Rose at MIMS 2011 by Tom McGann.

© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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