Big Shoulders
When we saw this recent t-shirt with the likeness of President Nelson Mandela, it brought memories of the controversial President Obama t-shirts of the 2008 Big Shoulders event in Chicago.
Prior to 2008, controversies in open water swimming tended to center itself over drug testing, high-tech suits, and length of feeding sticks.
Now controversies in swimming center around use of jammers and bubble caps, GPS readings, and in the case of the 2008 Big Shoulders event, a local politician who went to Washington D.C.
With the official t-shirts and medals bearing the likeness of President Obama, Big Shoulders in Lake Michigan immediately stirred up a shark’s frenzy judging from the thousands of comments in the U.S. Masters Swimming forums.
Photos of the Obama t-shirt and medals are courtesy of Blue Ollie (shown above).
And the Big Shoulders which serves as the 2013 Great Lakes Open Water Series Championship event is coming up this Saturday, September 7th.
Copyright © 2013 by Open Water Swimming
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.
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