A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the disciplines included. The word is of Greek origin, from τρεῖς, 'three', and ἆθλος, 'competition'.
Open water swimming is a swimming discipline which takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, lakes, and rivers. Competitive open water swimming is governed by the International Swimming Federation, World Aquatics, except when it is part of multi-sport events, which are governed by the World Triathlon.
Marcel Reinier Wouda is a Dutch former swimmer, who became the first Dutch world champion in men's swimming when he won the world title in the 200 m individual medley at the 1998 World Aquatics Championships in Perth, Australia. He was the coach of Olympic champions Maarten van der Weijden and Hinkelien Schreuder at the Nationaal Zweminstituut Eindhoven.
Maarten van der Weijden is a Dutch long distance and marathon swimmer born in Alkmaar. In 2019 Van der Weijden swam the Elfstedentocht for charity. He raised more than €6.1 million.
Edith van Dijk is a Dutch swimmer and 6-fold world champion. She is Holland's most successful open water swimmer and long distance swimmer, whose career started in 1990 taking part in the Dutch IJsselmeermarathon.
Marathon swimming is a class of open water swimming defined by long distances, with 10 kilometers being the unofficially held minimum distance. Routes are typically geographically based or buoy based. Geographical routes include crossings of channels and lakes, circumnavigations of islands, and stretches of coast lines or rivers. Buoy-routes are mainly found in competition events.
The men's marathon 10 kilometre event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 21 August at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing, China.
Mark Warkentin is an American open water swimmer and swimming coach.
The Global Open Water Swimming Conference is a conference on the sport of open water swimming, marathon swimming and swimming during triathlons and multi-sport endurance events. The conference is devoted to providing information about the latest trends, race tactics, training techniques, equipment, psychological preparation, race organization and safety practices used in the sports of open water swimming, marathon swimming and triathlons.
The swimming competitions at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London took place from 28 July to 4 August at the Aquatics Centre. The open-water competition took place from 9 to 10 August in Hyde Park.
Sharon van Rouwendaal is a Dutch swimmer and the Olympic gold medalist in the 10 km open water marathon at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Judith de Nijs is a Dutch swimmer. After setting a European record in the 400 m medley event in 1961 she shifted to marathon swimming and was ranked world No. 1 in 1964–1968 and 1970. For her achievements she was inducted to the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.
Allan Lopes Mamédio do Carmo is a Brazilian swimmer, who specialized in open water marathon. He is considered one of the fastest professional open water swimmers in the world, finishing near the top of FINA World Cup races for the 10 km marathon. He also won a bronze medal for his category at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Chad Ho is a South African open water swimmer, who specialises in 10 km and 5 km marathon swimming. Educated at Westville Boys' High School, he is considered one of the fastest professional open water swimmers in the world, having won the overall series title at the 2010 FINA World Cup and attended the Olympic Game's twice - 2008 and 2016. He is also currently a seven-time titleholder of the Midmar Mile.
Yevgeny Yuryevich Drattsev is a Russian swimmer, who specialized in open water marathon. He is considered one of the fastest professional open water swimmers in the world, finishing near the top of FINA World Cup races for the 10 km marathon. He also won two medals for the 5 and 10 km open water marathon at the 2007 FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia.
Saleh Mohammad is a Syrian swimmer, who specialized in open water marathon. He represented his Syria in the inaugural 10 km race at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and has also won a career total of four medals in a major international open water competition, spanning two editions of the Asian Beach Games.
Mohamed El-Zanaty Monir is an Egyptian swimmer, who specialized in open water marathon. He represented his nation Egypt at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and has claimed a bronze medal in the 25 km open water race (5:19:23.23) at the 2007 FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia.
Rostislav Vítek is a Czech swimmer, who specialized in open water marathon. He represented his nation Czech Republic at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and eventually became the nation's first ever swimmer to cross the English Channel with a remarkable seven-hour record.
Luis Ricardo Escobar Torres is a Mexican swimmer who specialized in open water marathon. In 2010, Escobar became the first ever swimmer to claim an open water swimming title at the Mexican National Championships in Puerto Vallarta, clocking at 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 23.25 seconds. He is also the older brother of Susana Escobar, a long-distance freestyle swimmer, a two-time Olympian, and a member of the swimming team for the Texas Longhorns.
Christian Hein is a German former swimmer, who specialized in long-distance freestyle events and open water marathon. He won two silver medals in both 5 and 10 km open water swimming at the 2003 FINA World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, with a time of 53.13.9 and 1:51.06.5, respectively. Hein is a member of SVW 05 Würzburg, and is coached and trained by Nikolai Evseev.
