Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. If we had to make a theoretical all-star relay of great female open water swimmers to swim across any of the Oceans Seven channels (English Channel, Catalina Channel, Molokai Channel, Strait of Gibraltar, North Channel, Cook Strait or Tsugaru Channel), it would be an extremely difficult choice. The
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Sandra Bucha was honored last weekend by the International Swimming Hall of Fame as one of its relatively few Honor Open Water Swimmers. In the world of professional marathon swimming, 4 women have stood out among their male rivals: Greta Andersen, Judith van Berkel-de Njis, Shelley Taylor-Smith, and Bucha.
When men and women competed against one another in the professional marathon swims during the 1960s, there was one woman who was always a threat to win: Judith van Berkel-de Njis from the Netherlands. After an illustrious career as a professional marathon swimmer, the Dutch legend was selected for enshrinement in a special election by the International
During the 26-year period between 1970 and 1995, when the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) added an Open Water Swimming category to its existing classifications, no open water swimmers were selected for inclusion in the International Swimming Hall of Fame. During that period, a number of well-qualified and renowned open water swimmers were
In the world of professional marathon swimming, four women have stood out among their male counterparts. Greta Andersen went goggle-to-goggle with her male rivals in the 1950s and 1960s, often winning and proving herself the greatest of all. Judith van Berkel-de Njis was similar, winning over men and women at the 1964 31-mile Lake Ontario swim in Canada,
