Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Parents and coaches often ask how their young athletes can develop a passion and yearning for the open water. We think there is plenty of advice, but these 10 steps are a good start. 1. Develop a love for the coastline and shoreline. Allow the children to play at the lake, sea, beach, ocean, and river -
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Simon Griffiths of H2Open Magazine penned a thoughtful and introspective article on Why our choice of words matters to our fellow swimmers (see here). Griffiths explains in his article about how he reflected on the use of the term, disabled swimmer. "The preferred wording is 'swimmer with a disability' as
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Don Makatile of the Sunday World describes Olympic marathon swimmer and Paralympic champion Natalie du Toit's well-received book Tumble Turn "a beautiful story of courage, the stuff powerful biographies are made of.” Tumble Turn, published in 2006, is an inspirational story for people from all walks of
How do women compare to men in open water swimming?
The Profile of Natalie du Toit was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as one of the best television images of the summer and winter Olympic Games back in 2008. And the recognitions for her achievements, mindset and lifestyle continue. In fact, in retirement, her achievements are looked upon with even greater awe. South African
"...never be scared to dare..." Ram Barkai, South Africa "...old swimmers don't die, they just wade away..." Ted Erikson, USA "...nothing great is easy..." written on the memorial of Captain Matthew Webb, UK "...expect the unexpected..." Heraclitus, Greece "...just get on with it..." John Tierney, Ireland "...big love..." Nick Adams, UK "...going for a
When we think about open water swimmers of the past, so many outstanding individuals come to mind from the 19th and 20th centuries. When we think about the contemporary swimmers of modern times, there are so many luminaries that is hard to know where to start. But when we think about the future generations of open water swimmers who will take positions of
Figuratively speaking, open water swimming has always seemed to evolve in waves over the generations. Like the ocean swells and tides that swimmers face, it seems major media coverage of the sport comes and goes. The first recorded wave was in the 1820-1830's with professional competitions that were held in different lakes and coastal towns. [Read
It is rare for an open water swimmer to be sponsored as part of an advertising program (Natalue du Toit for Chevolet). It is even more exceedingly rare for an open water specialist to be featured on commercial packaged product. Famous football players, yes. Well-known basketball players, yup. Olympic champions, certainly. Cartoon characters, all the time.
Neil Armstrong, Commander of the Apollo 11, passed away on Saturday. An estimated 600 million people watched the Navy pilot set foot on the moon in 1969 and heard him utter his most famous statement, "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind" when he stepped off of his lunar module onto the moon. The humble American astronaut was never
