Ned Denison, chairperson of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, announced Nora Toledano Cadena of Mexico as the 2025 Poseidon Award winner.
The Poseidon Award is presented annually by the International Swimming Hall of Fame to recognize outstanding contributions to marathon swimming. This award honors individuals or organizations that have significantly advanced the sport of marathon swimming through their personal efforts or initiatives.
“Nora most undoubtedly embodies the Poseidon Award,” observed Steven Munatones. “Her tenacity and fierceness in the water as an athlete is balanced with her compassion, sweet spirit, and genuine smile as a coach, mentor, administrator, organizer, and ambassador of the sport. Nora has long been involved in open water swimming, both domestically in Mexico and internationally in some of the most difficult channels and professional marathon swims around the world. She was the first Mexican inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame and has inspired, mentored and coached innumerable Mexican and Latin American swimmers of all ages for decades.
Her speeches and her book – A cada brazada: el azul interminable (At Each Stroke: Endless Blue with Antonio Argüelles) – describe her channel crossings and how lessons from those challenges can be applied in real life.
After decades in the sport, she is renowned for being friendly, personable, humble, and inspirational since her first English Channel crossing and first professional marathon swims in the 1990’s. Nora is quite simply a remarkable individual.”
Among her many accomplishments, she has…
- achieved the Oceans Seven in 2019 and the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming in 2016
- created the Mexican Open Water Association to govern crossings between Cozumel and the Maya Riviera
- crossed the English Channel six times individually in 1992, 1994 (two-way crossing in 23 hours 38 minutes), 1997 and 2005, and five times on a relay
- won the 3 km (1.8 miles) at the 2005 World Masters Games.
- coached dozens of swimmers from Mexico, Peru, Iran, Italy to cross various channels around the world
- organized the FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup in Cancún, Mexico
- nominated in 1994, 1996 and 2005 to receive the National Sports Award in Mexico
- named one of the World’s 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Women in 2019
- raced in professional marathon swims in Brazil, Argentina, Spain, and Macedonia
- appeared in the documentary film Aloo
- serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame
Poseidon Award Winners
- 2013 Organising Committee of the 2013 Global Open Water Swimming Conference including Oswald Schmidt, Paschal Horgan, Captain Tom McCarthy, Ciaran O’Connor, Finbarr Hedderman, and Ned Denison of Ireland
- 2016 Chloë McCardel of Australia
- 2017 Steven Munatones of the USA
- 2018 Chris Guesdon of Australia
- 2019 Michael Read of Great Britain
- 2020 Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria
- 2021 Sarah Thomas of the USA
- 2022 Shelley Taylor-Smith of Australia
- 2023 Kevin Murphy of Great Britain
- 2024 Penny Lee Dean, Ed.D. of the USA
- 2025 Nora Toledano Cadena of Mexico
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