Marathon swimming
Encyclopedia
Marathon swimming, or ultra-long-distance swimming, is a class of open water swimming
. Unlike the use of the term for foot-races where the distance is well-defined, the distance of a marathon swim varies from event to event. Tides, surface currents and wind-chop are major determinants of finish-times. For a given course, these factors can vary dramatically from day to day, making meaningless any attempt to draw conclusions about athletic ability by comparing finish times from performances undertaken on different days.
One of the earliest marathon swims was accomplished in 1875 by Captain Matthew Webb, when he became the first person to swim across the English Channel. Similarly, perhaps the most famous marathon swim of all-time was accomplished in 1926 by Gertrude Ederle
, when she became, at 19 years of age, the first woman to swim across the English Channel. In doing so, she demolished the existing world record for the crossing.
World marathon swimming records can be set by being the first to swim a specific distance in a specific course in a specific body of water or the fastest or the oldest or the most prolific (i.e., the most number of times in a specific location). World records are authenticated by independent observers and are defined by distance, gender, age, location and time. Distance is separated into world marathon swimming records (at least 10 kilometers) or world open water swimming records (under 10 kilometers).
The Half Century Club is a list of marathon swimmers over the age of 50 years who have successfully swum across major channels around the world. The Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming includes three famous marathon swims around the world: (1) 21 miles (33.7K) across the English Channel between England and France, (2) 21 miles (33.7K) across the Catalina Channel in Southern California, USA, and (3) 28.5 miles (45.8K) around the Manhattan Island in New York, USA. Membership in the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming requires authentification of each of these three swim
The Ocean’s Eight are marathon swimming's equivalent of the Seven Summits
. The Ocean’s Eight include (1) Irish Channel between Ireland and Scotland, (2) Cook Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand, (3) Molokai Channel between Oahu and Molokai Islands in Hawaii, (4) English Channel between England and France, (5) Catalina Channel between Santa Catalina Island and Southern California, (6) Tsugaru Channel between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido in Japan, and (7) Strait of Gibraltar between Europe and Africa (8) Strait of Belt between Denmark and Germany. No one has yet completed the Ocean’s Eight, but many swimmers are currently trying.
Open water swimming
Open water swimming takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, bays, lakes, rivers, canals, and reservoirs.The beginning of the modern age of open water swimming is sometimes taken to be May 3, 1810, when Lord Byron swam several miles to cross the Hellespont from Europe to Asia.In...
. Unlike the use of the term for foot-races where the distance is well-defined, the distance of a marathon swim varies from event to event. Tides, surface currents and wind-chop are major determinants of finish-times. For a given course, these factors can vary dramatically from day to day, making meaningless any attempt to draw conclusions about athletic ability by comparing finish times from performances undertaken on different days.
One of the earliest marathon swims was accomplished in 1875 by Captain Matthew Webb, when he became the first person to swim across the English Channel. Similarly, perhaps the most famous marathon swim of all-time was accomplished in 1926 by Gertrude Ederle
Gertrude Ederle
Gertrude Caroline Ederle was an American competitive swimmer. In 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Gertrude Ederle was the daughter of a German immigrant who ran a butcher shop on Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan; she was born in New York City. She was known as...
, when she became, at 19 years of age, the first woman to swim across the English Channel. In doing so, she demolished the existing world record for the crossing.
World marathon swimming records can be set by being the first to swim a specific distance in a specific course in a specific body of water or the fastest or the oldest or the most prolific (i.e., the most number of times in a specific location). World records are authenticated by independent observers and are defined by distance, gender, age, location and time. Distance is separated into world marathon swimming records (at least 10 kilometers) or world open water swimming records (under 10 kilometers).
The Half Century Club is a list of marathon swimmers over the age of 50 years who have successfully swum across major channels around the world. The Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming includes three famous marathon swims around the world: (1) 21 miles (33.7K) across the English Channel between England and France, (2) 21 miles (33.7K) across the Catalina Channel in Southern California, USA, and (3) 28.5 miles (45.8K) around the Manhattan Island in New York, USA. Membership in the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming requires authentification of each of these three swim
The Ocean’s Eight are marathon swimming's equivalent of the Seven Summits
Seven Summits
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Summiting all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such and achieved on April 30, 1985 by Richard Bass .-Definition:...
. The Ocean’s Eight include (1) Irish Channel between Ireland and Scotland, (2) Cook Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand, (3) Molokai Channel between Oahu and Molokai Islands in Hawaii, (4) English Channel between England and France, (5) Catalina Channel between Santa Catalina Island and Southern California, (6) Tsugaru Channel between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido in Japan, and (7) Strait of Gibraltar between Europe and Africa (8) Strait of Belt between Denmark and Germany. No one has yet completed the Ocean’s Eight, but many swimmers are currently trying.
Solo Swims
- English ChannelEnglish ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
- Catalina Channel
- North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)The North Channel is the strait which separates eastern Northern Ireland from southwestern Scotland...
(formerly known as the Irish Channel) - Tsugaru StraitTsugaru Straitis a channel between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture...
- Strait of GibraltarStrait of GibraltarThe Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...
- Cook StraitCook StraitCook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....
- Swim MiamiSwim MiamiSwim Miami is an open-water swimming event held annually in south Florida. This year’s event will take place on April 9th, 2011, on Watson Island. Today the event is owned and operated by the H2O’s Foundation, a foundation dedicated to eradicating drowning in south Florida. The swim also helps to...
- Beltquerung
Group Swims
- Rottnest Channel SwimRottnest Channel SwimThe Rottnest Channel Swim is an annual open water swimming event from Cottesloe Beach to Rottnest Island, off the coast of Western Australia, near Perth. It is open to solo swimmers and teams of two or four. It is one of the largest open water swimming events in the world. The distance is...
(Australia) - FINA World Aquatics Championships
- FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships