If there were an opportunity to magically create the perfect male open water swimmer, what would be involved?

The swimmer would be able to swim well in cold water, warm water, rough water, tranquil water, in the night and under the tropical sun. He could excel in both short ocean swims with heavy surf and in long marathon swims across channels. They could perform well in elite competitions as well as plan and complete unprecedented swims in uncharted waters.

The optimal swimmer would be made up of a composite of physiological and psychological attributes of the world’s swimmers. The swimmer would have:

* the speed of John Kinsella
* the charisma of Johnny Weissmuller
* the ruggedness of Philip Rush
* the navigational IQ of Petar Stoychev
* the high elbow catch of Ous Mellouli
* the chest of Cliff Lumsden
* the shoulders of Hercules Troyden Prinsloo
* the leadership of Ned Denison
* the height of Jerome Leslie
* the abs of Spyros Gianniotis
* the handsomeness of Ky Hurst
* the smile of Mario Sanzullo
* the facial hair of Valerio Cleri
* the eyes of Julien Sauvage
* the personality of Abdul Latif Abou Heif
* the kick of Alex Meyer
* the closing speed of Thomas Lurz
* the cold water acclimatization of Andrei Sychev
* the prolificity of Kevin Murphy
* the oratorical abilities of Lewis Pugh
* the boldness of Captain Matthew Webb
* the organizational skills of Colin Hill
* the pioneering spirit of David Yudovin
* the vision of Ram Barkai
* the intellect of Peter Attia
* the grit of Ted Erikson
* the humor of Charlie Gravett
* the patience of Thomas Burgess
* the competitiveness of Trent Grimsey
* the longevity of Claudio Plit
* the business savvy of Vito Bialla
* the track record of Des Renford
* the humanity of Fran Crippen
* the medical acumen of Otto Thaning
* the unnerving belief in oneself of Maarten van der Weijden
* the youthful enthusiasm of Benjamin Schulte
* the doggedness of Stephen Redmond
* the can-do spirit of Craig Dietz
* the courage of James Pittar
* the diplomatic skills of Governor Duncan Taylor
* the literary talents of Lord Byron
* the inventiveness of Benjamin Franklin
* the knowledge of the ocean of Rob Brander
* the environmental awareness of Doug Woodring
* the stature of Murray Rose
* the audacity of Martin Strel

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