Martin Strel Returns To America With A New Message
Martin Strel has made a splash in Europe, in South America and in Asia over the course of his long career. And now he has returned to America where he once swam the length of the Mississippi – and is now taking on the other great American river – the Colorado. His son Borut announced, “Martin Strel’s Grand Canyon Swim was supposed to happen this past weekend, but it was postponed until the end of May or beginning of June due to unforseen circumstences. We are very much looking forward to this new venture and will keep you in the loop as the story develops.”
Martin Strel is producing two television shows for broadcast on National Geographic, History and Discovery Channels. “This has been very exciting for us as we truly enjoy working with award winning directors and producers,” explained Borut. “Deadly-defying rapids in the canyon, freezing water temperature, sharp rocky shallows and unpredictable drop-offs are some of the dangers on the way.”
Next month’s issue of Outside magazine features an article on Martin and his upcoming swimming Grand Canyon challenge. Red Bull awarded Martin’s Amazon swim in 2007 as one of history Six Best Risky River Expeditions.
Like his swims barreling downstream going with the flow, Martin is making waves in the press while he changes his mission and purpose of his swim. “I want this challenge to be a little different,” he explains. “My previous swims have been all about extreme endurance and stamina. This time I want to tackle a demanding clean, fresh water stream of the Colorado river over a shorter distance in the iconic breathtaking surrounding nature in the Grand Canyon. The goal is to shoot an action documentary for a television show and show people how important is to save such fresh and clean river which needs to stay alive and be part of our environment.”
Copyright © 2011 by Open Water Source
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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