Juan Ignacio Martínez Fernández-Villamil, known locally as Moreno, served as the long-time volunteer and driver of the multi-day and multi-event Descenso a Nado de la Ría de Navia and the Vice President of the Amigos de la Ría de Navia in Asturias in northern Spain.
He passed away on October 11th at the age of 76, leaving behind a beautiful legacy.
He organized the Descenso a Nado de la Ría de Navia that became one of the World’s Top 100 Open Water Swims as well as the Copa Asturias (Asturias Cup) and high-level LEN competitions over the decades.
Alberto Pérez Díaz reported, “Moreno was the tireless driver and heart of the Descenso a Nado de la Ría de Navia. The affection and good treatment received by all the Castellan-Manchego athletes who have swum in Navia makes us always in debt to him. From the Federación de Natación de Castilla-La Mancha, we want to convey our deepest condolences to all his family and friends.”
Moreno’s year-round efforts were selected as the 2012 World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year. His selection was celebrated at the Global Open Water Swimming Conference held in Cork, Ireland in October 2013.
His 2012 WOWSA Awards nomination read, “For 55 years, the Descenso a Nado Ría de Navia has captured the hearts and minds of the small town of Navia in northern Spain. For 55 of the 55 years, Juan Ignacio Martínez Fernández-Villamil or Moreno for short has been the heart and soul of the Descenso. The dances and the drama, the pageantry and the parades, the races and the revelry of the race are intimately ingrained in a truly magical week of non-stop activities. This priority on the athletes, this melding of culture and competition only comes about by a larger-than-life personality who places open water swimming at the center of his life’s work day in and day out, year in and year out. For his ability to inspire the community and sponsors, for his ability to weave the traditions of northern Spain so magnificently to a swim down a river, for his efforts to place smiles on swimmers of all generations for days on end, for his 24/7 availability to create a most picturesque event where swimmers are all placed on the top podium of priority, the year-round efforts of Juan Ignacio Martínez Fernández-Villamil are a worthy nominee for the 2012 WOWSA Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year.“
© 2023 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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