Updating Encyclopedia Britannica On Distance Swimming
In this online version of the Encyclopedia Britannica, Distance Swimming is defined as such:
Distance swimming (current)
Any swimming competition longer than 1,500 metres (1,640 yards) is considered distance swimming. Most long-distance races are in the 24- to 59-km (15- to 37-mile) range, though some, such as the Lake George marathon (67 km [41.5 miles]) and the Lake Michigan Endurance Swim (80 km [50 miles]), both in the United States, have been longer. FINA governs distance swimming for 5-km, 10-km, and 25-km (3.1-mile, 6.2-mile, and 15.5-mile) races. In 1954 a group of amateur and professional marathon swimmers formed the Fédération Internationale de Natation Longue Distance; and in 1963, after dissension between amateur and professional swimmers, the World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation was founded. Throughout the 1960s the latter group sanctioned about eight professional marathons annually, the countries most frequently involved being Canada, Egypt, Italy, Argentina, and the United States. The British Long Distance Swimming Association has sponsored races on inland waters of from 16.5 to 35.4 km (10.25 to 22 miles).
The first type of distance swimming to be regulated by FINA was English Channel swimming, which captured the popular imagination in the second half of the 19th century. Captain Matthew Webb of Great Britain was the first to make the crossing from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in 1875; his time was 21 hours 45 minutes. The map distance was 17.75 nautical miles (33 km), but the actual distance of a Channel Swim is frequently lengthened by tides and winds. No one matched Webb’s feat until 1911, when another Englishman, T.W. Burgess, made the crossing. In 1926 the American swimmer Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim the Channel, crossing from Cap Gris-Nez, France, to Dover in a record-setting time for man or woman of 14 hours 31 minutes. Since then, except for the World War II years, crossing swims have been made annually. Several swimmers have made 10 or more crossings. The Channel Swimming Association was formed in 1927 to control swims and verify times. By 1978 the record had been lowered to 7 hours 40 minutes by Penny Dean of the United States, and by the 1990s successful crossings had been made by swimmers as young as 12 and as old as 65. Various swimmers had crossed both ways with only brief rests between the swims. Open-water distance swimming events of 10 km (for men and women) were added to the Olympic program in 2008.
However, if WOWSA were asked to update this description, it would be as follows:
Distance swimming (updated)
Any swimming competition longer than 1,500 metres (1,640 yards) is considered distance swimming by the pool swimming community. Swimming in open bodies of water across all 7 continents have led to the formal establishment and governance of open water swimming, stage swimming, winter swimming, ice swimming, wild swimming, marathon swimming, channel swimming, high-altitude swimming, and relays. Any swimming competition longer than 10,000 metres (10,936 yards) is considered marathon swimming by World Aquatics (formerly, FINA or Fédération Internationale de Natation Amateur, the international governing body of aquatics) and the open water swimming community. Single-session marathon swimming races range from 10 – 91.8 km (6.2 – 57 miles) while multi-day stage swims range from 42 to 183 km. With the introduction of the Olympic marathon swim at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 10 km distance is the most common racing distance. World Aquatics governs open water swimming for 5-km, 10-km, and 25-km (3.1-mile, 6.2-mile, and 15.5-mile) races and 6-km relays. In 1954, a group of amateur and professional marathon swimmers formed the Fédération Internationale de Natation Longue Distance (International Long Distance Swimming Federation); and in 1963, after dissension between amateur and professional swimmers, the World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation was founded. Throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s the latter group sanctioned about eight professional marathons annually, the countries most frequently involved being Canada, Egypt, Italy, Argentina, and the United States. The British Long Distance Swimming Association has sponsored races on inland waters of from 16.5 to 35.4 km (10.25 to 22 miles).
The first type of distance swimming to be regulated was English Channel crossings by the Channel Swimming Association beginning in 1927 that was formed to control swims and verify times. In the 19th century, a vast number of local bodies governed distance swimming which captured the popular imagination in the second half of the 19th century. Captain Matthew Webb of Great Britain was the first to make the crossing from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in 1875; his time was 21 hours 45 minutes. The map distance was 17.75 nautical miles (33 km), but the actual distance of a Channel Swim is frequently lengthened by tides and winds. No one matched Webb’s feat until 1911, when another Englishman, T. W. Burgess, made the crossing. In 1926 the American swimmer Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim the Channel, crossing from Cap Gris-Nez, France, to Dover in a record-setting time for man or woman of 14 hours 31 minutes. Since then, except for the World War II years, crossing swims have been made annually. Several swimmers have made 10 or more crossings. By 2012 the record had been lowered to 6 hours 55 minutes by Trent Grimsey of Australia, and by 2014, 73-year-old Dr. Otto Thaning successfully crossed in 12 hours 52 minutes. Four swimmers have crossed the English Channel 3 consecutive times (Jon Erikson of the USA, Philip Rush of New Zealand, Alison Streeter of Great Britain, and Chloë McCardel of Australia) while Sarah Thomas of the USA completed a four-way crossing of 134 km in 54 hours 10 minutes.
Open-water distance swimming events of 10 km (for men and women) were added to the Olympic program in 2008. 25 of the world’s fastest distance swimmers competed in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim that was held in a rowing basin at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, in the Serpentine, a man-made lake in Hyde Park, at the 2012 London Olympic Games, in Copacabana Beach at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, and in Tokyo Bay at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
FINA was established on July 19th 1908 during the 1908 London Olympics that were held from July 13th to July 25th. Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary and Sweden were responsible for the formation of FINA. But FINA had no governance responsibilities in marathon swimming until the 25 km race was held in the Swan River in Perth, Western Australia during the 1991 FINA World Championships.
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