To improve the water quality of Tokyo Bay for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games 10 km marathon swim, the organizers have begun to dump 11,000 cubic meters of sand infused with clams and other shellfish in the area around Odaiba Marine Park.
The sand is dredged from a fishing port on Kozushima in the Izu Islands that are located south of Tokyo and include some of the most beautiful coastlines throughout Japan.
Kōzushima is a scenic volcanic island in the Philippine Sea, very popular with tourists, that is surrounded by blue water, located over 160 km south of Tokyo. The visibility of the water is incredibly clear with coral reefs – where undoubtedly the dredged sand is naturally clean.
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.