This is a telling photo of a young boy helping a young girl – perhaps his sister, a relative, or neighborhood friend – make a telephone call.

While the saying ‘behind every great man, there’s a great woman‘ is well known, the reverse is also true on dryland and, many times, in the open water.

Whether it is a cursory review or a comprehensive deep dive into the great swims in history by women, over long distances, across channels, in near-freezing water, in big-money races, or at the Olympics or World Championships, there are often men (quiet and stoic, pilots to coaches) who help those women achieve their goals.

But it is these women who take charge and are in charge. They take the leadership role and provide the inspiration for their support teams to follow.

The open water swimming equivalent of that young girl making a telephone call while standing on the back of a brother, relative, or friend reminds me of the two young lifeguards who were pulling the long boat around Absecon Island in the Atlantic City Around the Island marathon swim for winner Shelley Taylor-Smith.

Or, the work performed by escort pilot Eddie Spelling who guided Sarah Thomas on her unprecedented four-way crossing of the English Channel that took 56 hours 13 minutes (1st crossing from England to France in 11 hours 26 minutes + 2nd crossing from France to England in 12 hours 41 minutes + 3rd crossing from England to France in 12 hours 58 minutes + 4th crossing from France to England in 17 hours 5 minutes.

Or the photography and logistical support provided by Arik Thormahlen when Jaimie Monahan swam in Paradise Harbour in Antarctica (shown on left above) and many other locations on her unprecedented ice swimming adventures. Similarly, when Gabe Souza helps profile International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Swimmer Pat Gallant-Charette (shown on right above).

There were also men from navigator John Bartlett – who helped Diana Nyad for several years on her various attempts to swim from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida – to Jabez Wolffe who helped different swimmers from Gertrude Ederle to Patricia Retief, Hilda Sharp, Margaret Duncan, and Sunny Lowry attempt swims across the English Channel in the 1920’s and 1930’s.

And then there is Phil White [with white beard in photos below], who literally as Walt Disney accomplished in building a Magical Kingdom in Southern California, so has White built a Magical Kingdom of marathon swimming, ice swimming, and mass participation events in and around Lake Memphremagog in Vermont and Quebec. He organizes, promotes, escort pilots, navigates, encourages, supports on shore and in boats, writes, times, feeds, and cheers hundreds of swimmers – many who are women who range from his age to half his age, and to a tenth of his age.

White’s Kingdom Games events include Memphremagog Winter Swim Festival, Northeast Kingdom Open Water Swimming Association Champion of Champions Challenge, Kingdom Swim, Border Buster, Lake Willoughby Swim, Saturday Cluhous Swim Series, NEK Swim Week in Crystal Lake, Island Pond, Lac Massawippi, Lake Seymour, Echo Lake, Willoughby One Way & Two Way, Caspian Swim, In Search of Memphre, Clubhous Cold Water Swimming, and the Vampire Swim (see 2024 event list here).

© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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