Today at the 2004 Athens Olympics pool, Chrysostomos Giannoulakis of the Special Olympics World Summer Games opened the festivities by explaining the new 1.5K open water swim in Attica Beach.

“We have 35 swimmers from 19 national delegations. Safety is our number one priority. But the venue is outstanding and you can see the entire course from the beach. We will be announcing the positions of the swimmers throughout the race and we will have many VIPs in attendance. We have the opportunity to create a great legacy for open water swimming.”

Future princess of Monaco Charlene Wittstock (shown on left above) is also present at the World Summer Games as one of open water swimming’s most visible supporters – a sport she picked up earlier this year at the Midmar Mile. She was instrumental in raising £60,000 on behalf of the Special Olympics.

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