Ned Denison, chairperson of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, announced Forrest Nelson of the USA as the 2025 Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award winner.
The Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award was established in 1970 by the New England Marathon Swimming Association to honor and recognize the contribution of individuals and groups making major contributions to marathon swimming and to serve as a perpetual memorial to Irving Davids and Captain Roger Wheeler.
“Forrest Nelson most certainly lives up and greatly deserves this prestigious award,” said Steven Munatones. “He has devoted so much of his time, passion, and know-how into making the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation into one of the world’s greatest and most professional run organizations – devoted to channel swimmers from all around the world. For 11 years as president of the board of directors, he was relentless in making sure all the swimmers, coaches, and crew were all very well taken care of – before, during, and after their crossings, whether the crossings were successful or not.
He cared deeply – about the swimmers, the sport, and the history of the Federation. And he has left it in good hands with his successor Don Van Cleve and the rest of the CCSF community of volunteers, captains, and crew.“
As a channel swimmer himself, he has achieved the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming and the Grand Slam of Open Water Swimming and is one of only two individuals to have crossed the Molokai Channel in both directions between Oahu and Molokai.
He has also completed some massively long swims including a 77.2 km 25 hour 45 minute circumnavigation swim of Catalina Island, a 51 hour 55 minutes California Screamin’ Relay around Catalina Island and Santa Barbara Island, a 25 hour 48 minute relay from San Clemente Island to the mainland, a 6-way Catalina Channel crossing in 61 hours 6 minutes, and a 64.6 km circumnavigation relay around Santa Catalina Island in 41 hours 54 minutes.
His passion as a swimmer is more than matched by his intensity of an observer and support crew member. When he is serving in those capacities, he never sleeps or rests no matter how long or rough the swim is. His eyes are always on the swimmer while he frequently consults with the pilot in order to help navigate the optimal course for his athletes. He epitomes an ideal support crew member.
Irving Davids / Captain Roger W. Wheeler Memorial Award for Meritorious Service to Long Distance Swimming Recipients
- 1970 Joe Grossman
- 1971 Gerald Forsberg
- 1972 Buck Dawson
- 1973 Willy Van Rysel
- 1974 Jerry Nason
- 1975 Ray Scott and Audrey Scott
- 1976 Aquatique Club du lac St. Jean
- 1977 Conrad Wennerberg
- 1978 Charles E. Silvia
- 1979 Dennis Matuch
- 1980 – 2001 Award Retired
- 2002 James Doty
- 2003 British Long Distance Swimming Association
- 2004 Roger Parsons and Valerie Parsons
- 2005 Lynn Blouin
- 2006 Dale Petranech
- 2007 Silvia Dalotto
- 2008 Shelley Taylor-Smith
- 2009 Michael Read
- 2010 Christopher Guesdon
- 2011 Steven Munatones
- 2012 Drury Gallagher
- 2013 Ned Denison
- 2014 Melissa Cunningham
- 2015 Dennis Miller
- 2016 David Yudovin
- 2017 Richard Broer
- 2018 Stéphane Lecat
- 2019: Sue Guesdon
- 2020: Sid Cassidy
- 2021: Colin Hill
- 2022: Elizabeth Fry
- 2023: Sally Anne Minty-Gravett, MBE
- 2024: Massimo Giuliani
- 2025: Forrest Nelson
© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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