Prelude: Lucy Johnson, an outstanding pool swimmer in her youth who later ran open water swimming events in Southern California, helped establish the City of Long Beach as the Aquatic Capital of America, to showcase its leading position in America as a hotbed of aquatic sports and to serve as a fundraising arm to support local youth aquatics and water proofing Long Beach youth.
When Johnson found that Long Beach had the greatest number of Olympic medalists in aquatic sports than any other city in America, its name was born.
2025 Aquatic Capital of America Awards Ceremony
Tonight in downtown Long Beach, the annual Aquatic Capital of America Awards were held to a standing room only crowd.
25-year-old Brenna Knapp was awarded the Masters’ Athlete of the Year Award for her 10 hour 1 minute crossing of the Catalina Channel in August 2024.
Knapp followed in the wake of her father Professor Peter Knapp who had crossed the Catalina Channel in 12 hours 54 minutes in 2016 when Brenna was his 16-year-old support crew member. “She had worse conditions and a faster time,” proudly recalled Professor Knapp.
“I wanted to cross Catalina when I was on my father’s escort boat,” said Brenna who is currently a doctorate candidate at Long Beach State University…and following her father’s footsteps in more ways than one.
Brenna had the inspiration and the coaching and put in the time and effort into her training. She was so spot on that she had earlier predicted a 10-hour crossing … and came within one minute of her prediction.
The 2024 Outstanding Achievement Award was given to Swim Long Beach whose coaches Hank Wise and Katie Rowe trained and organized a tandem relay crossing of the Catalina Channel. The Santiago and Marlin relay members included Dylan Jones, Mike Hall, Sam Simmons, Bob Hagle, Jeff LeBauve, Steven Johnson, Megan Jones, Alan Gobron, Loren Wright, Adam Luco, Tony Gale, and Bennett Moxom with support kayakers Gerry Parker, Will Diaz, and Steve Sanchez who crossed in 12 hours 40 minutes.
The Catalina Channel Swimming Federation reported, “With water temperatures ranging from 68 to 73°F, the swimmers displayed heart and determination throughout the journey. In the middle of the night, they were forced to detour around a cargo ship and they battled a strong current two miles off Terranea, where family and friends eagerly awaited their arrival.”
Other winners included Colin Geer as Athlete of the Year, Max Irving, Hannes Daube, Chase Dodd, and Ryder Dodd as Athletes of the Decade, Gavin Arroyo as Coach of the Year, Long Beach Grunions as Organization of the Year, Lucas Jue as High School Achievement Award, and Scott Dixon as Dick Miller Waterman of the Year and Tom Shadden Citizen of the Year.
For more information, visit www.theaquaticcapital.org.
© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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