Judging from these two men – American Olympian Mark Warkentin on the left in a TYR swimsuit circa 2008 and Captain Matthew Webb on the right in a swimsuit circa 1875 – the more things change, the more things stay the same.

Just as swimming was popular way back when, the open water swimming community in New York is coming back.

Mark is headed to New York City this week to take on International Marathon Swimming Hall of Famer Petar Stoychev in a mano-a-mano race around Manhattan Island.

Watch the race live starting at 3:20 pm local time on Friday, September 10th.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones