Yuko Matsuzaki, the only Japanese Honour Swimmer in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, brings her Japanese perspective and unique humor to every open water swim she does.

Yuko-san, who currently works at the Rosen Hotels & Resort as a travel professional, explains her first experience in a professional marathon swim at the Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli, the Italian leg on the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix circuit.

Yuko-san shined like a star during her International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame speech at the United Nations in 2011. She gave a hilarious, riveting speech that told her incredible transformation from a record-holding fin swimmer to a marathon swimmer of note. She had the audience laughing with her exploits from Florida to Italy. A colorful personality, she starts all her open water swims with a bright smile and ends them with an even bigger one.

Photo courtesy of Skip Storch.

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