Women In The Water – How Wonderful Moms Are
Avon Shamash introduced her son to the adventurers in the open water world – Lewis Pugh, Martin Strel, Marcos Diaz and the rest of the stars who will be at the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame ceremonies at the United Nations this weekend. “He loved talking about the Amazon, the adventure and the piranhas. But we also talked about Penny Palfrey and her [68-mile swim in the Cayman Islands]. At this point, he had a perplexed look on his face so I asked him what was wrong. ‘But she is a mom,’ he said with consternation evident in his voice.Suppressing the urge to give the 9-year-old a lecture on the accomplishments of women and moms in particular, I took a step back, and asked him, ‘Why do you think that a mom can’t break records and do the same kinds of amazing things that men do?’
‘Well, she has to take care of her kids.’
I sat him down and explained that a mom can do the same kinds of amazing things that men are doing in open water swimming. As we looked at other women in the sport – people like Penny Dean, Shelley Taylor-Smith and Anne Marie Ward [who will all also be at the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame ceremonies], I asked him if he got it. ‘Yup, moms are pretty amazing.'”
It is great to be reminded by the daily actions how wonderful moms can be – at home, at work and in the open water.
Copyright © 2011 by Open Water Source
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.
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