Ned Denison, chairperson of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, formally inducted Dr. Evgenij Pop Acev as an Honor Swimmer in the IMSHOF Class of 2024.
The 36-year-old North Macedonia was honored today at the Class of 2024’s International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame ceremonies in Cancún, Mexico – along with the following luminaries of the sport:
- Penny Lee Dean, EdD – ISHOF Poseidon Award
- Massimo Giuliani – ISHOF Irving Davids/Captain Roger W. Wheeler Memorial Award
- Melissa Cunningham Roberts – The Dale Petranech Award for Services to IMSHOF
- Leonie Beck, Honor Swimmer, Germany, 2024
- Ros Hardiman, Honor Swimmer, Great Britain, 2024
- Allan do Carmo, Honor Swimmer, Brazil, 2024
- Sam Greetham, Honor Administrator, Great Britain, 2024
- Catherine Vogt Kase, Honor Coach, United States of America, 2024
- Lynton Mortensen, Honor Swimmer, Australia, 2024
- Pauline Jackson, Honor Administrator, United States of America, 2024
- Dr. Evgenij Pop Acev, Honor Swimmer, North Macedonia
- Courtney Moates Paulk, Honor Swimmer, USA
- Arianna Bridi, Honor Swimmer, Italy
- Suzanne Heim-Bowen, Honor Swimmer, USA
- Dan Simonelli, Honor Coach, USA
- Simone Ruffini, Honor Swimmer, Italy
Dr. Evgenji Pop Acev Legacy
Dr. Pop Acev has won 2 gold medals, 7 silver medals, and 8 bronze medals during his prolific professional marathon swimming career. He raced in his first marathon swim at the age of 17, the 16 km Faros Marathon Swim in Croatia. That set him off on a 16-year professional marathon swimming career at the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix race in his native Macedonia in 2007 where he placed 7th.
As he traveled the world racing, he won 3 Majors, tied for first in the 2015 and 2016 FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix Series and the 2019 FINA UltraMarathon Swim Series. He took a podium position in these series competitions for 9 years in a row.
He won his first FINA pro race in Macedonia in 2015 and won his second FINA pro race in Italy at the 36 km Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli in 2016.
Denison explains the background of his induction, “Evgenij’s lengthy marathon career ran from 2007 to 2021 when he raced in an astounding 106 world-class pro events in 21 countries. Evgenij won races in 6 countries including, the 36 km Capri-Naples in 2016, the 33 km Ohrid Lake Swim Marathon in 2015, the 19 km Jarak-Šabac Marathon Swim in 2005, the Veles 10 km in 2019, and the 2010 Bachko Gradiste 10 km in 2010. Other podium positions included the 57 km Maratón Acuática Internacional Santa Fe – Coronda in 2018, the 32 km Traversee international du Lac St-Jean in 2017, and the 34 km Traversée Internationale du lac Memphrémagog in 2014.”
Steven Munatones remembers him well, “Evgenij won the 2019 FINA UltraMarathon Swim Series on the sixth and last race of the circuit in 6 hours 53 minutes. After going back and forth against Italian rival Edoardo Stochino all season long, the Series title came down to a mano-a-mano competition within the 36 km Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli in Italy. Evgenij, then 31 years old, gutted out his world title with a 6 hour 53 minute swim, 6 minutes ahead of defending FINA UltraMarathon Swim Series champion Stochino. After finishing sixth in the 15 km Maratón Acuática Internacional Santa Fe – Coronda in Argentina, fourth in the 15 km Maratón Acuática Internacional Ciudad de Rosario in Argentina, fifth in the 32 km Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean in Canada, second in the 25 km Ohrid Lake Swim Marathon in North Macedonia, and second in 20 km Novi in Croatia, he finished third in the 36 km Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli to capture his third career world title. He has always represented North Macedonia very well as a personable, seriously-minded ambassador on the international swimming circuit.
He joins compatriot Tomi Stefanovski as the only two athletes from Macedonia in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, a very well-deserved honor.”
© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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