79 years ago, Marwan Saleh (79, Syria, MSF bio here) was born in Damascus, the largest city of Syria and the oldest capital in the world, dating back to 9,000 BC.
Its history is fascinating as one of the world’s significant commercial and religious centers over the centuries.
Saleh has similarly fascinating history over the past 9 decades across four continents.
His artistry as a painter and competitiveness as a professional marathon swimmer between 1965 and 1979 has taken him from Damascus to Europe and the Americas.
After several years of living in Berline and traveling to Canada while competing on the World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation circuit, Saleh eventually settled down in Québec where he owned and ran the Galerie d’Art Marwan in Trois-Rivières.
His paintings have been described as artistry exploring “…a few simple, but essential themes: the human being and the silent life of things – the Head and the Marionette. These few images are enough to provide an endless variety of emotions and an all-encompassing reflection of the human soul. For over 30 years the human Head has been his almost sole theme, which he has developed with an inexhaustible variety of expression.”
When he took to the water as a professional marathon swimmer, he also encountered endless variety of emotions and a reflection of the human soul – especially as he never experienced in DNF throughout his career that spanned the 1960s and 1970s. Over all those years with his head either down in the water or turned sideways to breathe without a clear view of the finish, he was always within his head – a reflection of his artwork.
In addition to his three English Channel crossings in the pre-GPS, pre-jammer era (9 hours 59 minutes in 1975 + 9 hours 27 minutes in 1976 that set a male speed record + 11 hours 15 minutes in 1978), he competed in the following professional marathon races a total of 32 times between 1965 and 1979:
- 36 km Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli in Italy, winning in 1969 in 11 hours 1 minute
- 58.7 km Maratón Acuatíco Río Coronda in Argentina
- 16.1 km Hamilton WPMSF Marathon in Canada
- 33.8 km Nile River Marathon in Egypt
- 32 km Traversée Internationale du lac St-Jean in Canada
- 16.1 km Lake Michigan Chicago Marathon WPMSF in USA
- 16.1 km Laval Marathon WPMSF in Canada
- 40.2 km Mar del Plata Marathon in Argentina
- 45 km Marathon du Saguenay in Canada
- 16 km Lake Gilman, Chibougamau WPMSF in Canada
- 88 km Maraton Nautica Internacional Hernandarias – Parana
- 15 km Lac-Simon in Canada
- 24-hour La Tuque 2-person relay in Canada
His 1969 Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli victory was accomplished when more than 80% of the swimmers DNF’ed including 5-time winner and IMSHOF Honoree Giulio Travaglio. He finished on the podium at the 1976 Capri-Napoli race, won the 1976 15 km Lac-Simon in 1969, at the 1969 15 km Montreal race, and at the 1974 Nile River Marathon. He also completed the 24 Heures La Tuque five times, finishing finishing second in 1971 with Abdellatief Abou Heif [see newspaper photo below] and third in 1975 with his brother Maher Saleh.
He was recently voted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honor Swimmer in its Class of 2026, a tribute to his longevity and competitiveness as a professional marathon swimmer, the first and only Syrian swimmer to be so honored.
© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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