Long-distance swimming is distinguished from ordinary swimming in that the distances involved are longer than are typically swum in pool competitions. When a given swim calls more on endurance than on outright speed, it is the more likely to be considered a long-distance swim. Long-distance swims, however, may take place in pools, such as the 1st official 24 hours World Championship in 1976 won by Peppo Biscarini with a record of 83.7 km or the current 25 meter pool world record of 2008 Olympic gold medalist Maarten van der Weijden. Some of the better-known long-distance swims are crossings of the English Channel, Catalina Channel, Fehmarn Belt and Cook Strait.
Florence May Chadwick was an American swimmer known for long-distance open water swimming. She was the first woman to swim across the English Channel in both directions, setting a time record each time. She was also the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, the Straits of Gibraltar, the Bosporus, and the Dardanelles.
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.
The Rottnest Channel Swim is an annual open water swimming event from Cottesloe Beach through Gage Roads to Rottnest Island, off the coast of Western Australia, near Perth.
The Oceans Seven is a marathon swimming challenge consisting of seven open water channel swims. It was devised in 2008 as the swimming equivalent of the Seven Summits mountaineering challenge. It comprises the North Channel, the Cook Strait, the Molokaʻi Channel, the English Channel, the Catalina Channel, the Tsugaru Strait and the Strait of Gibraltar.
Karen Burton is an American former competition swimmer who specialized in long-distance freestyle and open water events. While competing in the 25-kilometer open-water event, she represented the United States at the 1998 World Aquatics Championships in Perth, Western Australia, and took a bronze medal in the 1991 World Aquatics Championships. In Open Water championships sponsored by USA Swimming, she placed first in six national open water swimming champion competitions, which included three 15 km (9.3-mile) races and one 25 km (15.5-mile) race.
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.
Eva Fabian is an American-Israeli open water swimmer. She was the 2010 world champion in the 5-kilometer swim, and won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games in the women's 10k.
Chloë McCardel is an open water swimmer and swim coach from Melbourne, Australia.
Taranath Narayan Shenoy, is a deaf and visually impaired Indian swimmer and an honoree of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame. He is a winner of the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, having successfully completed the English Channel, Catalina Channel and the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri in 1990.
The Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming is a marathon swimming challenge consisting of three historically important swims:
- The English Channel, 33 kilometres (21 mi) between France and England
- The Catalina Channel, 32.5 kilometres (20.2 mi) between Catalina Island and the California mainland
- The 20 Bridges Swim, a 48.5-kilometre (30.1 mi) circumnavigation of Manhattan Island, New York City.
Ingemar Macarine is a Filipino long-distance swimmer, marathoner and environmental lawyer, currently serving as election officer of Tubigon town in Bohol, a province of the Philippines. Macarine pioneered the open water marathon swimming in the Philippines by crossing several channels in the country.
Wang Han is a Taiwanese actor and swimmer.
Sarah Thomas is an American marathon swimmer. She is the first person to complete four consecutive crossings of the English Channel and the first person to swim a current-neutral swim over 100 miles. She holds the world record for longest, second-, and third-longest current-neutral swims, and various other records in both fresh and salt water categories.
Prabhat Raju Koli is an Indian open water swimmer based in Mumbai. In 2018, Koli was awarded with the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, which was presented by Ramnath Kovind, the President of India. He was also awarded with Shiv Chhatrapati Award by the Maharashtra government.
Kyle Lee is an Australian open water swimmer. At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, he placed fifth in the 25 kilometre open water swim and eighth in the 5 kilometre open water swim. As part of the 2022 Marathon Swim World Series, he won two silver medals in the 4×1500 metre open water team relay. He is the 2022 Rottnest Channel Swim winner.
Nathalie Pohl is a German open water swimmer and extreme swimmer. She is also a two-time world record holder and holder of the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming. Pohl completed six of the seven Oceans Seven swims.
Andrew Donaldson is a Scottish-Australian marathon swimmer, motivational speaker, and mental health advocate. Donaldson is a three-time world record holder, most notably for the fastest time to complete the Oceans Seven marathon swim challenge.
Bengisu Avcı is a Turkish swimmer specializing in open water swimming. She is holder of the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming. As of February 2024, she completed four of the Oceans Seven swims.
