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The autobiography of James Pittar (@james_pittar) – Blind Vision – A blind man’s courage in the face of Loss, Triumph and Love – is now published as an audiobook. He writes about the loss of his eyesight, the triumphs of all of his swims, and the love of his wife, daughter, and family.
The audiobook is 9 hours 55 minutes long (a decent marathon swim time). Readers can buy his audiobook via his website address at www.jamespittar.com. His career includes the following swims:
- 1998: English Channel in 13 hours 50 minutes at the age of 28
- 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003: 19.7 km Rottnest Channel Swim
- 2001: 23.3 km Sydney Coast in 7 hours 25 minutes
- 2002: 14.4 km Strait of Gibraltar in 4 hours 51 minutes
- 2004: 23 km Cook Strait in 8 hours 31 minutes
- 2006: 32.3 km Catalina Channel in 11 hours 36 minutes
- 1999: 45.9 km Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in 7 hours 58 minutes
- 2007: 13.2 km Pennock Island Challenge in 3 hours 29 minutes
- 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013: 10 km South Head Roughwater
- 2009: International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Swimmer
- 2014: 7.4 km Robben Island in 3 hours 4 minutes
- 2020: Australian Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honouree
- 2020: 26 km Martha’s Vineyard to Nantucket in a tandem swim with Debra Blair in 8 hours.
- Other swims include 21 km Phuket, Thailand, 11 km Anzac Cove in Turkey, 25 km Vaal River in South Africa, 60 km Paraná River in Argentina, 10 km Capitola Pier to Santa Cruz in California, 10 km Inisbofin Harbour in Ireland, 6-day 86 km Bering Strait Swim relay from Cape Dezhnev in Chukotka, Russia to Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, USA
Books by International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honorees
- James Anderson (USA): Hawaii Sports Calendar
- Antonio Argüelles (@arguelles7mares, Mexico): A cada brazada el azul interminable (With each stroke, the endless blue) with Nora Toledano Cadena (@noratoledanoswim), and Travesía Interminable (Endless Journey in English) with Adam Skolnick (@adamskolnick)
- Paul Asmuth (@paasmuth, USA): Marathon Swimming: The Sport of the Soul
- Ersin Aydin (Turkey): Yüzme (Swimming in English)
- Frederick Cavill (Great Britain): How to Learn to Swim
- Channel Swimming Association (Great Britain): Channel Swimming Handbook
- Sri Chinmoy (India): Sports and Meditation, The Wisdom of Sri Chinmoy, Yoga and the Spiritual Life, and 1,300+ other books, 120,000 poems, 9 plays, 20,000 songs
- Marcia Cleveland (@marciac944, USA): Dover Solo and Swimming the English Channel
- Lynne Cox (@lynnecox20, USA): Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer, Grayson, South with the Sun: Roald Amundsen, His Polar Explorations, and the Quest for Discovery, The Day the Whale Came, Open Water Swimming Manual: An Expert’s Survival Guide For Triathletes And Open Water Swimmers, Swimming in the Sink: An Episode of the Heart, and Tales of Al: The Water Rescue Dog
- Buck Dawson (USA): Mermaids on Parade: America’s Love Affair With Its First Women Swimmers, The Complete Book of Dry-land exercises for Swimming, Weissmuller to Spitz: An Era to Remember: The First 21 Years of The International Swimming Hall of Fame, Chikopi and Ak-O-Mak: The Story of the Matt Mann Sports and Wilderness Camps, Saga of the All American – The 82nd Airborne in World War II, A Civil War Artist at the Front, and When the Earth Explodes: Volcanoes and the Environment
- Penny Dean, EdD (USA): Open Water Swimming: A Complete Guide for Distance Swimmers and Triathletes, History of Catalina Swims, How To Swim A Marathon, and Just Try One More
- Commander Charles Gerald Forsberg OBE, RN (Great Britain): Modern Long Distance Swimming, Long Distance Swimming, Long Distance Swimming, and Strokes in Swimming
- Benjamin Franklin (USA): The Autobiography of Benjamin, Poor Richards Almanack, Fart Proudly, The Way of Wealth, The Art of Virtue, and Wit & Wisdom
- Joe Grossman (USA): A History of Marathon Swimming
- Tom Hetzel, PhD (USA): Conquest of the English Channel
- Yvetta Hlaváčová (@yvette_tulip, Czech Republic): Rebelka (Rebellious in English) and Odsouzená talentem: Pravda o životě světové rekordmanky v plavání
- Tim Johnson, DPS, PE (USA): History of Open-Water Marathon Swimming, Finding A Job In Tough Times, Performance Sailing on a J29, Stud of the Hudson: A Swim in Twenty Stages, and Introductory Digital Logic Labs: A Graphical Approach to Logic Design
- Jane Katz, PhD (USA): Your Water Workout: No-Impact Aerobics and Strength Training From Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi and More and Swimming For Total Fitness
- Annette Kellerman (Australia): How to Swim, Physical Beauty: How to Keep It, Fairy Tales of the South Seas, My Story, and The Body Beautiful
- Régent Lacoursière (Canada); La Natation de Compétition, J’apprends à nager, Drown Proofing – Teaching Your Child to Swim, and L’Homme De L’Eau
- Thomas Lurz (@lurz.thomas) and Yasmin M. Fargel (Germany): Auf der Erfolgswelle schwimmen: Was junge Menschen wissen müssen, um erfolgreich zu werden (Float on the Wave of Success: What Young People Need to Know For Success)
- Attila Mányoki and Martin Schauhuber (Hungary) Oceans Seven: How I Cheated Death And Broke The Hardest Record In Swimming
- Mohamed Marouf, PhD (@swimmingprofessor, Egypt): Marathon Swimming Mind
- Yuko Matsuzaki (Japan): Marathon Swimming: My Fun Journey
- Linda McGill, MBE, OAM (Australia) Surviving the Sea of Life: The Triumphs and Tragedies of an Australian Olympian
- Steven Munatones (@steven.munatones, USA): Open Water Swimming, Science of Swimming Faster by Scott Riewald, PhD, and Scott Rodeo, MD
- Anna-Carin Nordin (@a.nordin, Sweden): Conquering the Straits
- Diana Nyad (@diananyad, USA): Find A Way, Other Shores, Diana Nyad’s Basic Training For Women, and Boss Of Me, The Keyshawn Johnson Story
- Dale Petranech (USA): A History of Marathon Swimming
- James Pittar (@james_pittar, Australia): Blind Vision
- Lewis Pugh, OIG (@lewis.pugh, Great Britain): Achieving the Impossible: A Fearless Leader, A Fragile Earth and 21 Yaks and a Speedo: How to achieve your impossible
- Stephen Redmond (@stephenredmond, Ireland): Fastnet – The Final Challenge
- Des Renford, MBE, OAM (Australia): Nothing Great Is Easy
- Julie Ridge (USA): Take It to the Limit: Endurance: How to Build It into Everything You Do
- Sharon van Rouwendaal (@svrouwendaal, Netherlands): Sharon van Rouwendaal: bruut
- Charles “Red” Silva (USA), Manual of Lifesaving And Water Safety Instruction, Lifesaving and Water Safety Instruction, LIFESAVING AND WATER SAFETY TODAY For Students and Instructors, Lifesaving and Water Safety Today, Manual and Lesson Plans for Basic Swimming, Water Stunts,, Life Saving, Springboard Diving, Skin & Scuba Diving, Life Saving, Springboard Diving, Skin & Scuba Diving, and Lifesaving and Water Safety Today For Students and Instructors
- David Smith, PhD (USA): Healing Journey: The Odyssey of an Uncommon Athlete, Hug the Monster How to Embrace Your Fears and Live Your Dreams, and The East/West Exercise Book
- Vicko Šoljan (Yugoslavia): Stari Grad – European Centre of Long Distance Swimming
- Stève Stievenart (@steve_stievenart, France): Steve Le Phoque – Le destin exceptionnel d’un homme sauvé par la mer
- Dr. Chris Stockdale, MBE (Great Britain): Swimming with Hero
- Shelley Taylor-Smith (@shelleytaylorsmith) and Ian Cockerill (Australia): Dangerous When Wet: The Shelley Taylor-Smith Story
- Nora Toledano Cadena ((@noratoledanoswim, Mexico): A cada brazada el azul interminable (With Each Stroke, The Endless Blue) with Antonio Argüelles (@arguelles7mares)
- Montserrat Tresserras (Spain): Nadando El Estrecho, Sus Orígenes Y Su Historia (Swimming the Strait, Its Origin and History)
- Jacques Tuset (@jacquestuset, France) Libre comme l’eau
- Barry Watson (USA): The Hinsdale Swimming Program
- Captain Matthew Webb (Great Britain): The Art of Swimming
- Maarten van der Weijden (@maartenvanderweijden, Netherlands): Beter
- Johnny Weissmuller (USA): Swimming The American Crawl
- Conrad Wennerberg (USA): Wind, Waves and Sunburn: A Brief History of Marathon Swimming
- Monique Wildschut (@moniqueblokwildschut, Netherlands): Ontberingen van een marathonzwemster (Rigors of a marathon swimmer) and Hardships Of A Marathonswimmer
- Jabez Wolffe (USA): Textbook of Swimming, Swimming Short and Long Distances, Crawl Stroke and Diving, and Swimming, Short and Long Distances, Springboard Diving
- Joe Zemaitis (@joe.zemaitis, USA): Joe’s Rules
- Major Jason Zirganos (Greece): Πώς πέρασα τη Μάγχη (How I Spent The Channel in English)
“All these books and recollections give comprehensive insights and backstories into the background, experiences, and mindset of some of the greatest open water swimmers in history,” says Steven Munatones. “They provide a rich history of the sport and are welcomed additions to any library of those owned by people involved in the sport.”
© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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