One hundred years ago, Rose Pitonof was a Pioneer.
Her early exploits in the history of marathon swimming were recognized as a Pioneer Swimmer by the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.
Pitonof, who lived from 1895 to 1984, was a marathon swimmer of the early 20th century and is the namesake of the 17-mile Rose Pitonof Centennial Swim. 2011 was the 100th anniversary of her historic swim from Manhattan to Steeplechase Pier, Coney Island.
In 1910 at the age of 15, she won the 8-mile Boston Light Swim in a record time of 6 hours 50 minutes. Seven men started the competition with her, but none finished. She was the first woman to ever complete the event.
After her Boston Light Swim, Rose became a Vaudeville performer. “My act was part of a larger Vaudeville program, but I was the headliner. They built a tank of water on the stage, and I would exhibit some of my strokes and dives.”
In 1911, she swam from East 26th Street to Steeplechase Pier, earning the woman’s title of Long Distance Swimming Champion of the World. The distance is 17 miles which she swam mostly breaststroke. An estimated 50,000 people were reported to have cheered her on at Coney Island.
In 1912 she attempted to swim across the English Channel, but she never got her chance and swam the Thames instead. In 1913 she made attempts to swim from the Manhattan Battery to Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
The inductees in the Class of 2013 include the following:
Honour Swimmers include Australia’s Melissa Cunningham, Great Britain’s Lewis Pugh, and Great Britain’s Nick Adams.
Honour Administrators include Fiji’s Dennis Miller and American coach Don Watson.
Honour Organisations include the Midmar Mile from South Africa and the Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation from Great Britain.
A Certificate of Merit was issued to the Open Water Swimming Committee of the Indonesian Swimming Federation.
ISHOF Finalists included David Yudovin, Mercedes Gleitze, and Dale Petranech.
The names of the honourees, along with 250 other great achievers and outstanding contributors in sport of marathon swimming, will be inscribed on the SEA GODDESS, the official trophy on permanent display at the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Their formal induction will take place during the annual International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame ceremonies. In 2011, the ceremonies were held in the United Nations Building in New York City. In 2012, the ceremonies were held on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California.
Copyright © 2012 by Open Water Source