Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

There are many renowned open water swimming epicenters around the world, from Aquatic Park to Sandycove Island.

But arguably, none of these epicenters of competition and camaraderie have grown as quickly as the southern Spanish coastline.

Aquapreneurs like Miguel Rahola, the founder of Marnaton, have made this happen.

Marnaton is a combination of three Spanish words: MAR (sea) + NATACIÓN (swimming) + MARATHON. With that original vision, Rahola started Marnaton in 2008 with the objective of making open water swimming a popular sport in Spain. Fast forward seven years and Marnaton has more than surpassed Rahola’s original objective. Thousands of swimmers compete in each of Marnaton’s races and over 300 swimmers practice on a weekly basis with Marnaton.

The Spanish coastline now is chock full of open water swimmers who have discovered the sport thanks to passionate aquapreneurs like Rahola.

“I have taken a very personal interest in Marnaton and my company, eDreams, has sponsored his events since 2010,” says Mauricio Prieto. “I have participated in a few open water events throughout the world, but none matches the organisation and natural beauty of Marnaton’s events.”

Copyright © 2015 by World Open Water Swimming Association