The Perfect Ideal Of A Male Swimmer

Courtesy of WOWSA, California.

Friendly and fit, intelligent and innovative, personable and professional.

These are just a few of the characteristics that define the open water swimmers who venture beyond the shorelines around the world.

From teenagers to great grandfathers, open water swimmers are billboards of healthy lifestyles with a fine balance between family and work, competition and fitness.

“Looking back upon the history of open water swimming over the last few centuries, the contemporary generation of swimmers are simply carrying on the tradition of optimal living and powerful propulsion in the water buoyed with incredible mental facilities and a profound sense of adventure,” observe Steven Munatones.

“Whether it was Duke Kahanamoku swimming in the Pacific Ocean, Johnny Weissmuller swimming head-up freestyle, Dr. Otto Thaning in the English Channel, or Murray Rose cruising along in the Australian surf – well beyond the ages in which were considered to be “normal”, the world’s open water swimmers have incrementally led the way and provided hints to the rest of the society on how to continue swimming faster and living better for longer periods of time.

If we could magically create the optimal male open water swimmer, what characteristics, physical features, and innate talents would be involved?“

The epitome of the perfect open water swimmer would be able to swim well in cold water, warm water, rough water, tranquil water, in the night and under the tropical sun. He could excel in both short ocean swims with heavy surf and in long marathon swims across channels. He could perform well in elite competitions as well as plan and complete unprecedented swims in uncharted waters.

The optimal swimmer would be made up of a composite of physiological and psychological attributes of the world’s swimmers. The swimmer would have:

* the speed of John Kinsella
* the charisma of Johnny Weissmuller
* the ruggedness of Philip Rush
* the water temperature adaptability of Petar Stoychev
* the navigational IQ of Ferry Weertman
* the high elbow catch of Ous Mellouli
* the chest of Cliff Lumsden
* the shoulders of Hercules Troyden Prinsloo
* the political skills of Antonio Argüelles
* the height of Jerome Leslie
* the abs of Spyros Gianniotis
* the handsomeness of Ky Hurst
* the smile of Mario Sanzullo
* the facial hair of Valerio Cleri
* the eyes of Julien Sauvage
* the personality of Abdul Latif Abou Heif
* the kick of Alex Meyer
* the closing speed of Thomas Lurz
* the cold water acclimatization of Henry Kaarma
* the prolificity of Kevin Murphy
* the oratorical abilities of Lewis Pugh
* the motivational skills of Ned Denison
* the boldness of Captain Matthew Webb
* the organizational skills of Colin Hill
* the passion of Ger Kennedy
* the vision of Ram Barkai
* the intellect of Dr. Peter Attia
* the grit of Ted Erikson
* the humor of Charlie Gravett
* the patience of Thomas Burgess
* the competitiveness of Trent Grimsey
* the programming skill sets of Evan Morrison
* the competitiveness of Claudio Plit
* the longevity of Michael Read
* the business savvy of Vito Bialla
* the track record of Des Renford
* the humanity of Fran Crippen
* the medical acumen of Dr. Otto Thaning
* the unnerving belief in oneself of Maarten van der Weijden
* the youthful enthusiasm of Benjamin Schulte
* the doggedness of Stephen Redmond
* the can-do spirit of Craig Dietz
* the courage of James Pittar
* the diplomatic skills of Governor Duncan Taylor
* the literary talents of Lord Byron
* the inventiveness of Benjamin Franklin
* the knowledge of the ocean of Rob Brander
* the environmental awareness of Doug Woodring
* the stature of Murray Rose
* the aquapreneurism of Buster Crabbe
* the maritime skills of Michael Oram
* the audacity of Martin Strel

The Perfect Open Water Woman is posted here.

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