Courtesy of Ned Denison, International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.
Gabriel Chaillou of Argentina was elected as an Honor Swimmer in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in the Class of 2021.
Denison interviewed Chaillou for today’s WOWSA Live where he talked about:
* how he saw all his swims as special including races in Red Sea, Cañon del Sumidero, Atlantic City and Mar de Plata
* his competitive pool swimming career that culminated at the Pan American Games and then he started professional marathon swimming at the age of 26
* his third professional race was a 100 km relay that started at 2 am in the dark and finished 20 hours later
* enjoyed competing against Petar Stoychev, Christof Wandratsch, Stéphane Lecat, and Damián Blaum when he won sometimes and he lost others
* remembered Claudio Plit as the model for Argentine professional marathon swimmers
Over the course of his 11-year professional marathon swimming, he competed in 16 countries starting in 1996 as a 26-year-old and competed in more than 70 races and stood on the podium for more than half of the races.
* In 1997, he won the 88 km Hernandarias-Parana marathon swim in the warm river breaking the course record held by International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Swimmer Greg Streppel
* He won the 25 km Ciudad de Mar del Plata in the cold ocean (colder than 16°C) breaking the course record while beating International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Swimmers Attila Molnar, Claudio Plit and Igor de Souza
* He was the bronze medalist in the 1998 FINA World Championships 25 km race
* He was the bronze medalist in the 2002 FINA World Championships 25 km race
* He finished on the podium in the 1997, 2001 and 2002 Around the Island Swim in Atlantic City, USA
* He finished on the podium in Lake Ohrid in Macedonia
* He finished on the podium in the 1997 Rio Coronda race in Argentina
* He finished on the podium in the 1999, 2002 and 2004 in Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean in Canada
* He finished on the podium in the 2003 Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli in Italy
* He finished on the podium in the 2004 Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli in Italy
* He finished on the podium in the 2004 Sabac race in Serbia
* He finished on the podium in the 2004 Traversée internationale du lac Memphrémagog in Canada
* He competed against the dominant swimmer of his era, International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Swimmer Petar Stoychev and record two victories against him
* He won the 1997 Maratón Acuática Internacional Santa Fe – Coronda, a 57 km FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix race held in the Coronda River in Argentina, tied with fellow French swimmer Stéphane Lecat
* He won the 2002 Maratón Acuática Internacional Santa Fe – Coronda, a 57 km FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix race held in the Coronda River in Argentina
* He finished second in the 22nd Traversée Internationale du lac Memphrémagog in 2000 in Canada
* He finished third in the 23rd Traversée Internationale du lac Memphrémagog in 2001 in Canada
* He won the 21st Traversée Internationale du lac Memphrémagog in 1999 in Canada
* He won the 2004 Jarak-Šabac Marathon Swim (Plivački maraton Jarak-Šabac), a FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix event in the Sava River in Šabac, Serbia
* He won a bronze medal in the 1998 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships 25 km marathon swim in Perth, Australia finishing in 5 hours 7 minutes 52.6 seconds
* He won a bronze medal in the 2002 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships 25 km marathon swim in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt
* He participated in a 20-hour 100 km international relay for Argentina
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