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.
An aquathlon is a multisport race consisting of continuous run and swim elements. Competitors complete a swim immediately followed by a run over various distances. Athletes compete for fastest overall course completion, including the time transitioning between the disciplines.
Jim Dreyer, also known as 'The Shark', is an ultra marathon athlete, because his swimming accomplishments are often tied to extensive running and cycling feats.
Lewis William Gordon Pugh, OIG, is a British-South African endurance swimmer and ocean advocate. Dubbed the "Sir Edmund Hillary of swimming", he is the first person to complete a long-distance swim in every ocean of the world, and he frequently swims in vulnerable ecosystems to draw attention to their plight.
Poliana Okimoto is a Brazilian long-distance swimmer.
Dr. Julie Bradshaw MBE is a British teacher, sports coach, counsellor, long-distance swimmer, and councillor at Charnwood Borough Council, Loughborough.
Nejib Belhedi is a Tunisian Marathon Icy and Iron open-water swimmer.
Michelle Davidson, is a U.S. Masters Swimmer and a long distance, open water swimmer. She is one of only 84 swimmers in the world who have ever accomplished the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, which includes crossing the English Channel and Catalina Channel, and circumnavigating Manhattan Island.
Linda Carol McGill, also known by her married name Linda Kruk, is an Australian former competition swimmer noted both for achievements at the Commonwealth Games and in long-distance swimming. At age 30, McGill set a record for the fastest and only swim around Hong Kong Island which stood for over 40 years, and still holds the record for the fastest swim in a counterclockwise direction.
Bhakti Sharma is an Indian Open water swimmer.
Ian Adamson is a former competitive adventure racer, television professional and president of World Obstacle, the Fédération Internationale de Sports d’Obstacles (FISO).
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.
Kimberley Chambers is a marathon open water swimmer from New Zealand. She is the sixth person in the world to complete the Ocean's Seven swimming challenge. In 2015, she became the first woman to swim from the Farallon Islands to the Golden Gate Bridge – a distance of about 30 miles.
Satendra Singh Lohiya is an Indian swimmer with 70% disability. On 24 June 2018 he crossed the English Channel as part of a swimming relay team which, for the first time saw four para swimmers from India cross the English Channel. He completed the channel in 12 hours and 26 minutes, setting a new record. He has been selected for the Tenzing Norgay Adventure Award 2019 for first Indian para swimmer which was given by the Honorable President of India Ram Nath Kovind and The Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi also recognized and appreciated Satendra Singh Lohiya's hard work and blessed him for his future endeavor. He received Vikram Award, the highest state-level sports awards in Madhya Pradesh, for swimming from the Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan, MP on 23 December 2014.
Ross Edgley is an athlete, ultra-marathon sea swimmer and author. He holds multiple world records, but is best known for completing the World's Longest Staged Sea Swim in 2018, when he became the first person in history to swim 1,780 miles (2,860 km) around Great Britain, in 157 days.
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.
Stella Taylor was an American long-distance swimmer born in Bristol, England, best known for crossing the English Channel twice and holding Guinness Book of Records recognition as the oldest woman to swim across the Channel. She made her first English channel crossing in August of 1973 in 15:25, from England to France, when she was around the age of 43, repeating the swim in 1975 in 18:15 at the age of 45.
Meenakshi Pahuja is an Indian lecturer and marathon swimmer. After a successful career as a competitive swimmer, she became a teacher at Lady Shri Ram College, and later entered open water swimming. She received a 2018 Nari Shakti Puraskar award.
Shyamala Goli also referred to as Goli Shyamala is an Indian endurance swimmer, Producer, Creative Director and Writer to the Animation Series and Movies. In March 2021, she became the second Indian woman and second woman in the world after Bhula Chaudhary to have crossed the Palk Strait. She completed the feat at the age of 47.
Andrew Donaldson is a Scottish open water and marathon swimmer. Donaldson holds the world record for the fastest swim across the Cook Strait - the waters between New Zealand's North and South Islands.
