So many open water swimmers are tough as nails. They thrive when the going gets rough. When the ocean is lumpy, when the winds on the lake throw up whitecaps; when the tides turn, many open water swimmers love pushing through the elements.
And there is apparently a new word to describe that characteristic: antifragility.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb coined a new word in his latest book, Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder for the biological, medical, economic, and political systems on terra firma: antifragility. Instead of merely tolerating adverse or unexpected conditions, a system that is antifragile means that performance improves. It has an ability to benefit and grow from random events, errors, and volatility.
Sounds like a perfect terms for many open water swimmers who we have met around the world.
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.