https://youtu.be/1uA5O-OlOiw

An extensive traveling exhibition of International Swimming Hall of Fame memorabilia was showcased at the 2011 FINA World Aquatic Championships [see video above].

Even since that exhibition in Shanghai, China, I have always thought what would I like to see at a traveling exhibition of open water swimming memorabilia. It would be easy and relatively simple and low cost to ship, protect, store, and exhibit the following momentos, photographs, swimming gear and products with plexiglass cases secured (bolted) to a folding table that can be shipped between large mass participation swims around the world (e.g., Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim in Turkey, aQuellé Midmar Mile in South Africa, Rei e Rainha do Mar Desafio in Brazil, Ice Swimming World Championships, Sun Moon Lake International Swimming Carnival in Taiwan, Vansbrosimningen in Sweden, Great North Swim in England, Descenso a Nado de la Ria de Navia in Spain, Rottnest Channel Swim in Australia, and Sea of Galilee Swim in Israel) so tens of thousands of open water swimmers can see the memorabilia.

• Photos of Captain Matthew Webb from his pioneering 1875 English Channel crossing 
• GPS course map that tracked Sarah Thomas during her historic four-way English Channel crossing in 2019
• GPS course map that tracked the international team of swimmers during the Bering Strait Swim 
• Goggles used by Gertrude Ederle on her 1926 English Channel crossing
• Flags used to mark off 100 meter points along Lewis Pugh’s 1 km course in the North Pole in 2007
• Event brochures and flyers from the 1927 Wrigley Ocean Marathon Swim across Catalina Channel
• Photos of Ram Barkai’s pioneering Ice Mile in Lake Zurich, Switzerland in 2009
• Shark Shield used to protect Kimberley Chambers during her 2016 Molokai Channel crossing attempt Kimb
• National flags of the swimmers who participated in the 2016 Dead Sea Swim between Jordan and Israel
• National flags of the swimmers who participated in the 2017 Pan-American Colibrí Swim between California and Mexico
• Red Ice Mile jacket of the International Ice Swimming Association
• Black Apache Lake swim cap of the SCAR Swim in Arizona
• Red wool hats of the International Winter Swimming Association
• Face mask used by Diana Nyad from dusk to dawn durin her Cuba to Florida swim in 2013
• Face mask used by Martin Strel during his 66-day 5,268 km stage swim along the Amazon River in 2007
• Goggles used by Mihir Sen during his crossing of the Panama Canal from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean in 1966 
• Observer reports, contemporary articles, or first-person recollections from these historic swims:
• Abdul Latif Abou Heif‘ 96.5 km swim across in Lake Michigan in 1963
• Alfréd Hajós‘ gold medal 1200m swim at the 1896 Athens Olympics Games in rough 13°C water in the Bay of Zea
• Alison Streeter‘s 43rd crossing of the English Channel
• Alison Streeter’s pioneering crossing of the North Channel in 1989 from Scotland to Ireland
• Andrei Sychev‘s 2250m 1 hour 6 minutes swim in Tyumen, Russia in 2012 in 0.8°C water and – 30°C air
• Annette Kellerman in the Seine Swim through Paris in 1902 in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators
• Annette Kellerman’s 42 km swim down the Thames in England in 1902
• Antonio Abertondo‘s first two-way crossing of the English Channel in 43 hours 10 minutes in 1961
• Barry Devonport‘s pioneering crossing of the Cook Strait from North Island to South Island in New Zealand in 1962
• Benoît Lecomte‘s assisted stage swim across the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts, USA to Quiberon, France in 1998
• Bert Thomas‘ pioneering crossing of the Strait of Juan de Fuca in 1955
• Bhakti Sharma‘s Ice Mile in Antarctica in 2015
• Brenda Sherratt‘s pioneering crossing of Loch Ness in 1966
• Chloë McCardel‘s 124 km crossing from Eleuthera to Nassau in the Bahamas in 2014
• Cindy Cleveland‘s pioneering 77 km circumnavigation swim around Catalina Island in 1979
• Cliff Lumsdon‘s victorious 51.5 km Canadian National Exhibition swim in 1955, winning $84,000+
• David Yudovin‘s pioneering crossing of the Tsugaru Channel in 1990
• Denize Le Pennec‘s pioneerin circumnavigation swim around Jersey in 1969
• Fred Rogers‘ pioneering crossing of Lake Tahoe in 1955
• Greta Andersen‘s pioneering two-way crossing of the Catalina Channel in 1958
• Guy Delage‘s pioneering assisted stage swim across the Atlantic Ocean in 1994
• Harry Huffaker‘s pionering crossing of the Alenuihāhā Channel in 1970
• Henri Kaarma‘s 2150m swim in Murmansk, Russia in 2013 in 0.8°C water and -7°C air
• Henry Charteris Hooper‘s pioneering crossing from Robben Island to Cape Town in 1909
• James Caldwell‘s pioneering crossing of the Maui Channel in 1970
• Imre Szenasi‘s 219 km swim down the River Tisza in Romania in 1962
• Jacques Amyot‘s pioneering crossing of lac St-John in Quebec, Canada in 1955
• Jon Erikson‘s three-way crossing of the English Channel in 1981
• Keo Nakama‘s pioneering crossing of the Molokai Channel in 1961
• Kevin Murphy‘s pioneering 90 km circumnavigation swim round the Isle of Wight in 1971
• Lewis Pugh‘s climb up, climb down and 1 km swim at 5,200m altitude in 2°C water in Lake Pumori on Mount Everest in 2010
• Lewis Pugh‘s 350m swim in -1.7°C water and -37°C air in the Ross Sea in 2015 where the waves froze in air
• Lord Byron‘s pioneering crossing of the Hellespont in 1810
• Lynne Cox‘s swim across the Bering Strait in 4°C water from Alaska to Big Diomede in Russia) in 1987
• Maarten van der Weijden‘s description of the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in Beijing in 2008
• Tina Neill‘s pioneering 83.7 km crossing of the San Clemente Channel
• Mercedes Gleitze‘s pioneering crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar in 1928
• Murugapillai Navratnaswami‘s pioneering crossing of the Palk Strait in 1954
• Natalie du Toit‘s description of the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in Beijing in 2008
• Pedro A Candiotti‘s 452 km downstream swim in River de la Plata in Argentina in 1935
• Penny Palfrey‘s description of her 108 km crossing from Little Cayman to Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands in 2011
• Philippe Croizon‘s description of his English Channel crossing without limbs in 2010
• Robert Dowling‘s pioneering circumnavigation swim around Manhattan Island in 1915
• Sarah Thomas‘ pionering two-way crossing of Lake Tahoe in 2013
• Stephen Redmond‘s description of his 7 channel crossings of the first Oceans Seven
• Stewart Evans‘ pioneering swim from the Farallon Islands to California in 1967
• Susie Maroney‘s 180 km shark-cage crossing from Cuba to USA across the Florida Strait in 1997
• Thane Guy Williams and Jonno Proudfoot‘s 458 km 25-day stage swim across the Mozambique Channel in 2014
• Tom Blower‘s pioneering crossing of the North Channel from Northern Ireland to Scotland in 1947
• Veljko Rogošić‘s pioneering swim across the Adriatic Sea in Italy in 2006 in 50 hours 10 minutes
• Vicki Keith‘s pioneering butterfly crossing of Lake Ontario in 2005
• Vicki Keith’s pioneering two-way crossing of Lake Ontario in 1987
• William ‘Billy’ O’Connor‘s pioneering crossing of lac Memphrémagog in 1955

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