Commentary courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. The recent acquisition of Whole Foods by Amazon is evidence that the entire retail shopping experience is rapidly changing in America – and another indirect indication that open water swimming will continue to provide a valuable outlet for humans. From books and clothing to electronic goods and foods, […]

Courtesy of Michael Dale, Australian Marathon Swimming Federation. Michael Dale reminisces about his activities as Treasurer of the Australian Marathon Swimming Federation and other activities in the 1980s: “…the Australian Marathon Swimming Federation was quite active during the 1980’s. John Koorey was the president [he set the record for a crossing of the Cook Strait

Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. “Persons habituated to a daily summer swim, or to the rapid wash with cold water over the whole body in the water, are far less liable to sudden colds, inflammatory diseases, or to the suffering of chronic complaints. The skin, one of the great inlets of disease, becomes tough

Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. After completing 19.8 miles in Stage 2 and 19.8 miles in Stage 5 [affectionately known as The Bitch and The Beast) of the 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim in New York, Devon Clifford flew way westward across America and the Pacific Ocean. Tomorrow, she will set out to swim

Courtesy of Ingemar Macarine, Subic Bay, Philippines. Ingemar Patiño Macarine notched another channel crossing in his native Philippines. He is swimming along at a new channel per month pace in preparation for his upcoming attempt to become the first Filipino to cross the English Channel. Together with Frank Lacson and their crew Willy N Ram

Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Cindy Toscano , a 27-year-old from Guatemala, comfortably won the 10 km Confederación Centroamericana y del Caribe de Natación (CCCAN) Championship in Trinidad and Tobago. Meanwhile, David Carrillo Rozo, a 30-year-old from Colombia, won slightly in a tight race over Fernando Betanzos Rodriguez of Mexico [shown above] and Juan

Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. “Her swim was epic,” is a phrase often bantered about after a particularly impressive open water swimmer. Epicity is the essence, quality or state of being epic. Epicity is a measurement of how epic a given swim, situation or achievement is. The World Open Water Swimming Association created a

Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Anne Cleveland passed away today after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Word spread quickly around the San Diego, California locals and the many people she touched throughout the global open water swimming community. “People knew she was sick, but it is still quite a shock to know that

Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. After observing marathon swimmers perform around the world in oceans and lakes, we asked the question, “What is the equivalent of a 25 km (15.5-mile) marathon swim on land?” In the article entitled Is 100K Running Tougher Than 25K Swimming?, we wondered how much do runners have to travel