Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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National team | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Santa Barbara, California, U.S. | November 14, 1979||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 185 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Santa Barbara Swim Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | University of Southern California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Mark Warkentin (born November 14, 1979) is an American open water swimmer and swimming coach.
After graduating from San Marcos High School in 1998, Warkentin attended the University of Southern California, from which he graduated in 2003 with a degree in communication. While a Trojan, he was a four-time All-American. He was also awarded USC's Willis Award as a freshman.
Warkentin qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing following his performance at the 2008 Open Water World Championships. In the lead-up to the Games he was noted by Time as one of its "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch." [1] He is a two-time national champion in the open water 25-kilometer, the longest sanctioned race in the sport. [2] The open water event at the Olympics was a 10-kilometer race, which typically lasts around two hours. [3] Warkentin finished in eighth place with a time of 1:52:13.0, [4] just twenty-one seconds behind winner Maarten van der Weijden. [5] Warkentin became head coach of the Santa Barbara Swim Club on December 1, 2012, returning to lead his childhood team.
Mark Andrew Spitz is an American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion. He was the most successful athlete at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, winning seven gold medals, each in world-record time. This achievement set a record that lasted for 36 years, until it was surpassed by fellow American Michael Phelps, who won eight golds at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Phelps, like Spitz, set seven world records.
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.
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.
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.
The women's marathon 10 kilometre event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 20 August at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing, China.
Sean Ryan is an American competition swimmer who specializes in long-distance and open-water freestyle events.
Andrew Douglas Gemmell is an American competition swimmer who specialized in long-distance freestyle events. He swam for the University of Georgia, helping then to place 5th in the NCAA in 2014, and was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic Team, where he competed in the 1,500-meter freestyle event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. At the Olympics, he finished ninth with a time of 14:59:05, missing the semi-finals by one place. He took several distance swimming medals, with a gold at the 5 km team event in the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, and took medals at the Pan Pacific Championships in 2014 and the Pan American Games in 2015 in the 1500 m, 5 km and 10 km events.
Ksenia Popova is a World Champion open water swimmer from Russia. At the 2008 Open Water Worlds, she won the Women's 25K race.
Alexander Meyer is a former American competition swimmer who specialized in open water and long-distance swimming. He won a gold medal at the 2010 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships in the 25-kilometer open water event. He was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team, and placed tenth in the 10-kilometer open water event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Alex won his final race before retirement, the 62nd Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean held on July 30, 2016.
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.
Ashley Grace Twichell is an American competition swimmer who specializes in long-distance freestyle and open-water events. She placed seventh in the 10 kilometer open water swim at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Twichell's age at her Olympic Games debut, 32 years of age, made her the oldest American swimmer first-timer at an Olympic Games since 1908.