Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. He has transformed himself through his exploits around the world from a mild-mannered channel swimmer to renowned celebrity, from a marathoner to a maverick who does unprecedented swims and supports record-breaking swims. His younger counterpart is an Olympic champion and world record holder. Together,
WOWSA interview with Charlotte Samuels is courtesy of Mackenzie Miller, Open Water Swimming Correspondent from Newport Beach, California. Daughter of Steven and Suzanne Samuels, Charlotte Samuels defied all odds when she overcame strong winds and tidal flows on September 8th 2014 to become the youngest swimmer in history to achieve the Triple Crown of Open
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. It seems records are being set and broken with greater and greater frequency in the sport of marathon swimming. On the high end of the scale, it was only a few years ago that Great Britain's Dr. Roger Allsopp set the record for the oldest swimmer to cross the English Channel at the age of 70. Then
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Dr. Otto Thaning is a heart surgeon from Cape Town, South Africa who knows a lot about the heart and about heart. While he focuses on the heart (muscle) at work, he know about heart (spirit) in the open water. Last year, he was in England to attempt to become the oldest individual in history to swim across
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. When Mother Nature acts normally in the Tsugaru Channel, tempestuous, turbulent, temperamental, it is best to throw mankind's best at her. In a heavyweight bout, send in a proven battler. Offer up someone with plenty of guts and full of grit. An individual with the daring and the mindset to give it their
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Roger Finch is off to Japan to attempt his third Ocean Seven channel after his successful English Channel and Catalina Channel crossings. In addition to his 20 Robben Island swims, Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, International Self-Transcendence Marathon Swim, Ederle Swim, S.C.A.R. Swim Challenge, and
It is a jet-setting life Ashley Twichell leads. From airport to airport, city to city, ocean to lake, pool to pool, the professional open water swimmer adds up the air mileage a la masters swimmers Barbara Held, Ned Denison and Roger Finch. The trio literally travel around the world in search of open water swims. In a very, very short span bouncing from
Samantha Cowen is not only an open water swimming newbie, but also a true beginner to the world of aquatics. But yesterday she completed a swim from Robben Island in 10ºC (50ºF) like a real champ and veteran. The popular Johannesburg media personality trained with Roger Finch and her friend Caren Strydom train for the 7.5 km Robben Island swim. "I swam
It appears that Martin Goodman (shown on left), Roger Finch and Theodore Yach were railroading their way to Robben Island in Cape Town, South Africa with the use of some very decent-sized ocean swells at their backs. But as Finch describes, "The rollers were going in the opposite direction." Sometimes the open water is with you; sometimes it is against
Roger Finch brings a heartwarming story from his native South Africa. "I am just the proudest non-parent around. Early this year I saw a young girl training much the same time of the day as me in a squad. What interested me was her training ethic, no messing talking or anything just work. I noticed not only did she train well but she could really swim so I
