Oleg Adamov was one of the swimmers on the Bering Strait Swim. While he was part of history with the 6-day 53-mile (86 km) relay crossing from Cape Dezhnev in Russia to Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska, he was also part of history in another setting.
Captain Adamov was the last commanding officer on the K19 submarine between 1997 and 2001 and a consultant on the movie K19-The Widowmaker starring Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson. The K19 was the submarine that averted a nuclear explosion when 8 crew members died after a reactor failure on board in 1961. The movie reportedly cost US$100 million to produce and was one of the most expensive independent films in the United States.
Captain Adamov had come to Loch Ness in Scotland in 2011 to help organize a swim in honour of the K19 servicemen with a team of Russian and British submariners and included Bering Strait Swim participant Victor Moskvin.
The Bering Strait Swim involved 121 individuals (listed here) who ranged from swimmers and physicians to kite surfers and administrators. The most dangerous open water swim in history where 66 swimmers rotated different legs in water temperature between 2.5-10°C is nominated for the 2013 World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year.
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.