On the shores of the Bay of Marathon near the Aegean Sea before the start of the 1.5 km open water swim at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, I was chatting with Tim Shriver, the CEO and Chairman of the Special Olympics. The Games included a 1.5 km open water swim as part of its schedule for the first time.
Under beautiful conditions – blue skies, clear water, light, cooling breeze in the peaceful Aegean Sea, Andrew Smilley of the Caymen Islands led the field of 35 athletes from 19 countries at the World Summer Games 1.5 km open water swim from nearly start to finish. The field was separated by gender – the men started 2 minutes and 20 seconds before the women.
Shriver – standing shoulder-to-shoulder with numerous VIPs , dignitaries, royalty, and representatives of national delegations watched onshore – many with incredulous wonder – about how these athletes set out on the course with such intensity and competitiveness, “Far too often, our athletes, athletes with intellectual disabilities, are viewed for what they can’t do. But Andrew showed the world what he can do and we congratulate his effort. Andrew’s performance is an example of how Special Olympics athletes are accomplishing great things that many just dream to achieve.”
What was so incredible and beautiful to see were the tears of joy and appreciation that were shed at the end of the race. These athletes and coaches were so filled with gratitude of the opportunity to showcase their talents to the world that some of them broke down at the finish. Through their welled-up eyes, they waved and smiled broadly at the appreciative crowd who openly shared their joyful emotions at the celebration of open water swimming excellence and international camaraderie.
It was a day to remember. Shriver was similarly touched, “Those athletes were great. What a wonderful competition. I was very impressed with them.”
As was everyone onshore.
Organization of the World Summer Games Open Water Swim
Getting the inaugural 1.5 km open water swim introduced at the World Summer Games took years of effort by a lot of people who were highly motivated to selflessly cooperate with each other – across borders, culture, and languages. No one was singularly credited for the collective work and ultimate result. No one was financially motivated or benefitted from the sport’s acceptance into the World Summer Games schedule.
It was a coordinated international teamwork at its finest: where athletes were put first and foremost.
The 1.5 km open water swim was the result a truly dedicated volunteer effort on a global scale.
Men’s Results
1. Andrew Smilley (Cayman Islands) 22:00.77 [shown above on left]
2. Dong Han Kim (Korea) 23:04.78
3. Jin Yong An (Korea) 23:26.69
4. Joshua Timbs (Australia) 23:47.80
5. Eduardo Rodriguez (Guatemala) 26:25.64
6. Wesley Klumper (Netherlands) 26:31.86
7. Matthias Attard (Malta) 27:15.33
8. Mattetyahu Oren (Israel) 27:20.80
9. Ricardo Aponte (Puerto Rico) 27:38.44
10. Guy Wartikowsky (Israel) 28:05.31
11. Javier Mejia (Honduras) 28:38.30
12. Dylan Coop (Australia) 28:52.24
13. Eric Marchetti (Italy) 29:37.43
14. Heriberto Torres (Puerto Rico) 29:43.69
15. Suk Il Hwang (South Korea) 20:11.03
16. Efrain Gomez (Puerto Rico) 30:47.12
17. Alex Vaca (Ecuador) 31:27.21
18. Gregory Black (Australia) 31:28.32
19. Mitchel Lopez (Curacao) 33:40.30
20. Samuel Silver (USA) 34:01.99
21. Alexandros Panagiotou (Greece) 39:00.85
22. Georgios Papadopoulos (Greece) 38:19.65
23. Ela Zohar (Israel) 38:41.77
24. Wensley Gysbertha (Curacao) 39:14.65
25. Michalis Kokkoris (Greece) 39:48.16
26. Zisis Dimoshakis (Greece) DNF
Women’s Results
1. Cornelia Fowler (South Africa) 25:02.64 [shown above on right]
2. Matthijs van Doorn (Netherlands) 26:07.48
3. Elisabeth Mansoor (Netherlands) 26:15.62
4. Nadja Tonnesen (Denmark) 26:09.56
5. Wenda Schippers (Netherlands) 28:30.60
6. Adriana Newton (Puerto Rico) 30:38.48
7. Flor Mendez (El Salvador) 32:05.23
8. Aisling Beacom (Ireland) 33:09.17
9. Opal Alon (Israel) 36:09.29
NGB Competition
In 2011, Shriver told me on the shores of the Bay of Marathon, “The politics of government is nothing like the politics of sports.”
Often, this statement is so true.
Like open water swimming’s acceptance into the Special Olympics World Summer Games, the sport of surfing took years of effort on a global scale to become accepted by the Olympic family, initially at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and then at its successful follow-up in Teahupo’o, Tahiti for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
But along the way to LA28, a rival National Governing Body (NGB) wanted to get into the action. The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association aimed to govern the American surfers leading up to the LA28 Olympics.
It was an administrative war over athletes who surf and athletes who ski.
The tussle over which NGB would manage the American surfers at the LA28 was between USA Surfing based along the California coast in San Clemente and the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association based in Park City in the Rocky Mountains of Utah. The Association is an NGB traditionally focused on the Winter Olympics that governs skiers and snowboarders.
Laylan Connelly laid out the tug-of-war between the surfing NGB and the skiing NGB here at Who should govern surfing for LA28? USA Surfing, U.S. Ski and Snowboarding make their pitch).
This week, the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association backed down from its move to take over surfing while USA Surfing will continue to govern the surfing community and build its long-range plans to support surfers aiming for medals at the LA28 Games. Their announcement said, “U.S. Ski & Snowboard has concluded that our energy and expertise are best used in service to our athletes as they prepare for the upcoming Winter Games. We feel progress in sport requires partnership and trust. We remain open to opportunities in the future should the environment become more collaborative.”
At stake was millions of dollars of funding for various programs and administrative control over promising young athletes and top-level Olympic hopefuls.
Money was the issue. Control was at stake. It was a disagreement among administrators.
The Beauty of the Global Open Water Community
In contrast, it is always great to see when a sport like open water swimming finds a collaborative group of administrators, coaches, and volunteers entirely focused on the athletes and developing and organizing local, national, regional, and international events for them to develop their athletic potential.
Great job Special Olympics and the global open water swimming community.
Keep up your cooperation and coordination.
And good luck to the surfers in LA28, an ocean-going community with close kinship to open water swimmers.
© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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