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.
Thomas Lurz is a German swimmer who specializes in long-distance freestyle swimming, especially open water swimming. Lurz lives in Gerbrunn and swims for the SV Würzburg 05 sports club.
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.
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.
Mark Warkentin is an American open water swimmer and swimming coach.
Ksenia Popova is a World Champion open water swimmer from Russia. At the 2008 Open Water Worlds, she won the Women's 25K race.
The men's marathon swim over a distance of 10 kilometres at the 2012 Olympic Games in London took place on 10 August in the Serpentine at Hyde Park.
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.
Ana Marcela Jesus Soares da Cunha is a Brazilian swimmer who specializes in the open water swimming marathon. She is considered one of the best open water swimmers in history, having obtained 14 medals in FINA World Aquatics Championships. She has also received FINA’s Female World Open Water Swimmer Of The Year award six times. Her countless achievements are comparable only to those of Larisa Ilchenko, another multi-medalist in World Championships.
Chad Ho is a South African open water swimmer, who specialises in 10km and 5km 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.
Aurélie Muller is a French swimmer, who specializes in long-distance freestyle events and open water marathon. She won the 10-kilometer competition at the 2015 world championship in Kazan, Russia and at the 2017 world championship in Budapest, Hungary.
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.
The women's marathon swimming over a distance of 10 kilometres at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place on 15 August at Fort Copacabana.
Florian Wellbrock is a German swimmer. He is the world record holder in the short course 1500 metre freestyle. He won gold medals in the 10 kilometre open water swim and 1500 metre freestyle at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships. At the 2020 Summer Olympics he won the gold medal in the 10 kilometre open water swim and the bronze medal in the 1500 metre freestyle. In December 2021, he won a gold medal in the 1500 metre freestyle at the 2021 World Short Course Championships.
The women's marathon 10 kilometre event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held on 4 August 2021 at the Odaiba Marine Park. It was the fourth appearance of the event, having first been held in 2008.
