The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) announced that two Floridians, Jon Erikson of Boca Raton and Sandra Bucha of Bradenton, will be inducted into the ISHOF’s Class of 2014 as Open Water Swimmers.

The American marathon swimming pair will join 13 other athletes, coaches and contributors from the FINA-governed aquatic sports into the ISHOF Class of 2014 from 8 nations who will be honored in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, June 13th – 15th 2014.

They will be honored along with Grant Hackett from Australia, Agnes Kovacs of Hungary, Tom Malchow of the USA, Peng Bo of China, Penny and Vicky Vilagos of Canada, Carlo Silipo of Italy, Karen Kuipers of the Netherlands, coaches Charlotte Davis of the USA, coach Jozsef Nagy of Hungary. Bruce S. Hopping of the USA, Norman Sarsfield of Great Britain and Chuck Wielgus of the USA will be honored as Contributors to the sport.

Bruce Wigo, President of the ISHOF, explains Erickson’s honor. “In 1969, when he was just fourteen years of age, Jon made headlines around the world as the youngest swimmer to successfully swim across the English Channel. Twenty-two years later he set another milestone by becoming the first to do a triple crossing of the same Channel, a feat only two others have accomplished since. In between he garnered numerous laurels on the professional marathon circuit.”

Erikson describes his three-way 38 hours 27 minute crossing of the English Channel here.

He was inducted in 1981 as an Honour Swimmer in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame where he joined his father Ted. Jon first swam from France to England in 1969 as the youngest swimmer and did a two-way crossing in 1979 where his first leg as the fastest crossing of the year. He later did two English-to-France crossings in 1980 and did many professional marathon swims in Mexico, Argentina and Canada including five Traversée Internationale du lac St-Jean, three 24 Heures La Tuque and races in Chibougamau, Hamilton, Pasbebiac and elsewhere. He is also a member of the 24-hour Club for swimming 36.75 miles (59 km) in Lake Michigan from Michigan City to Chicago, Illinois in 1971 in 24 hours 30 minutes.

Other articles about Jon Erikson are here:

* Jon Erikson’s Thoughts 3 Decades Later On The 3-Way
* Jon Erikson’s Remarkable 12-Year Career
* Jon Erikson, A Giant In The Sport, Passes Away
* Jon Erikson To Be Honoured In Florida And Scotland
* International Swimming Hall Of Fame Open Water Great
* 24-Hour Club … Swimming All Day And Night
* Progressing Quickly In The English Channel
* Swimming Across Lake Michigan And Watching History
* Open Water Swimming Until You Are Blue In The Face
* Survival Swimming In The Outer Limits
* ISHOF Honor Bestowed On Jon Erikson
* Honor Bestowed On Sandra Bucha
* The Erikson Memorial Fund
* Crème de la Crème Of The Open Water World
* Colin Hill Livens Up Global Open Water Swimming Conference
* Simon Murie To Speak At Global Open Water Swimming Conference
* 2014 Global Open Water Swimming Conference Speakers
* Jon Erikson Needs Good Cheer
* Sharp As A Swimmer, The Mervyn Marathon Magic
* The Heart Of Lions

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