Marathon swimming

Marathon swimming

Marathon swimming, or ultra-long-distance swimming, is a class of open water swimming. Unlike the use of the term for foot-races where the distance is well-defined, the distance of a marathon swim varies from event to event. Tides, surface currents and wind-chop are major determinants of finish-times. For a given course, these factors can vary dramatically from day to day, making meaningless any attempt to draw conclusions about athletic ability by comparing finish times from performances undertaken on different days.

One of the earliest marathon swims was accomplished in 1875 by Captain Matthew Webb, when he became the first person to swim across the English Channel. Similarly, perhaps the most famous marathon swim of all-time was accomplished in 1926 by Gertrude Ederle, when she became, at 19 years of age, the first woman to swim across the English Channel. In doing so, she demolished the existing world record for the crossing.

World marathon swimming records can be set by being the first to swim a specific distance in a specific course in a specific body of water or the fastest or the oldest or the most prolific (i.e., the most number of times in a specific location). World records are authenticated by independent observers and are defined by distance, gender, age, location and time. Distance is separated into world marathon swimming records (at least 10 kilometers) or world open water swimming records (under 10 kilometers).

The Half Century Club is a list of marathon swimmers over the age of 50 years who have successfully swum across major channels around the world. [1] The Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming includes three famous marathon swims around the world: (1) 21 miles (33.7K) across the English Channel between England and France, (2) 21 miles (33.7K) across the Catalina Channel in Southern California, USA, and (3) 28.5 miles (45.8K) around the Manhattan Island in New York, USA. Membership in the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming requires authentification of each of these three swim [2]

The Ocean’s Eight are marathon swimming's equivalent of the Seven Summits. The Ocean’s Eight include (1) Irish Channel between Ireland and Scotland, (2) Cook Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand, (3) Molokai Channel between Oahu and Molokai Islands in Hawaii, (4) English Channel between England and France, (5) Catalina Channel between Santa Catalina Island and Southern California, (6) Tsugaru Channel between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido in Japan, and (7) Strait of Gibraltar between Europe and Africa (8) Strait of Belt between Denmark and Germany. No one has yet completed the Ocean’s Eight, but many swimmers are currently trying. [3]

Contents

Solo Swims

Group Swims

See also

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Marathon swimming at the 2008 Asian Beach Games — was held from 25 October to 26 October, 2008 in Bali, Indonesia. Contents 1 Medal summary 1.1 Medal table 1.2 Medalists 1.2.1 …   Wikipedia

  • Marathon swimming at the 2010 Asian Beach Games — was held from 9 December to 11 December, 2010 in Muscat, Oman. Contents 1 Medal summary 1.1 Medal table 1.2 Medalists 1.2.1 …   Wikipedia

  • Marathon — For other uses, see Marathon (disambiguation). Competitors during the 2007 Berlin Marathon …   Wikipedia

  • Swimming (sport) — Swimmer redirects here. For the military term, see frogman. Swims A swimmer performing freestyle. Highest governing body Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) Nickname(s) …   Wikipedia

  • swimming — swimmingness, n. /swim ing/, n. 1. the act of a person or thing that swims. 2. the skill or technique of a person who swims. 3. the sport of swimming. adj. 4. pertaining to, characterized by, or capable of swimming. 5. used in or for swimming:… …   Universalium

  • Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics — Swimming at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad Pictogram for swimming at the 2008 Games Venue Beijing National Aquatics Center Shunyi Olympic Rowing Canoeing Park Dates …   Wikipedia

  • Swimming at the Summer Olympics — Governing body FINA Events 34 (men: 17; women: 17) Games …   Wikipedia

  • Marathon, Ontario — Marathon   Town   Motto: Built On Paper Laced With Gold! …   Wikipedia

  • Marathon Beach Hotel Limassol (Limassol) — Marathon Beach Hotel Limassol country: Cyprus, city: Limassol (Beach) Marathon Beach Hotel Limassol Marathon Beach Hotel is located on the beautiful island of Cyprus. Situated on the beach between the Amathus and Yermasoyia Tourist area of… …   International hotels

  • Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Women's marathon 10 kilometre — Infobox Olympic event event = Women s 10 km open water marathon games = 2008 Summer caption = venue = Shunyi Olympic Rowing Canoeing Park date = August 20 competitors = 25 nations = 23 win value = 1:59:27.7 gold = Larisa Ilchenko goldNOC = RUS… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”