Instead of focusing on his untimely and unfortunate passing, The Daily News of Open Water Swimming has focused on Fran’s wonderfully rich and selfless life. Several articles covering his legacy have been posted:
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Petar Stoychev, one of the world’s greatest marathon swimmers of all time who has been participating on the FINA circuit for longer than current swimmer, talked about the tragedy with Alaric Gomes of the Gulf News which has closely covered the event.

“This is such a sad moment for all of us,” an eloquent multi-lingual spokesman who has swum in more countries and venues than nearly anyone else in history. Petar is well-known on the professional marathon swimming circuit and among his competitors to frankly and fearlessly question race directors to get the correct information and ensure a level playing field. “This is the first time ever that I have encountered an incident like this one. At this moment it is sort of pointless going through the incident and going into what actually happened out there yesterday. There are so many things that can come up and the debate can go on and on. But what I do know is that Fran was an extremely good swimmer. What we do need to do is keep positive and ensure our sport goes forward.”

From every perspective of the sport, Fran touched the lives of many. The NYC Swim staff recalls when Fran participated in the 2009 NYC Pro Swim, “Fran was the only swimmer who went up to the volunteers and spectators and thanked them for coming out to watch the race. At the Ederle Swim this weekend, our swimmers and volunteers all remembered Fran and shared their little moments they had with him last year at the Pro race. It is incredible how one person can have such a meaningful impact on so many.”

Fran can be seen at his victory at the 2009 USA Swimming Open Water Swimming National 5K Championships in Ft. Myers, Florida:



Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones