The swimming competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place from 9 to 17 August 2008 at the Beijing National Aquatics Centre. The newly introduced open water marathon events (10 km) were held on 20 and 21 August 2008 at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.
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.
Gregorio Paltrinieri is an Italian competitive swimmer. He is a former world record holder in the short course 1500 metre freestyle. He holds the European record in the long course 800 metre and 1500 metre freestyle events with times of 7:39.27 and 14:32.80, respectively. In the 1500 metre freestyle, he is a 2016 Olympic, three-time world long course, two-time world short course, three-time European long course, and three-time European short course champion. In the 800 metre freestyle, he is a 2019 world long course, 2022 world short course, three-time European long course, and 2021 European short course champion. In the 10 kilometre open water swim, he is a 2022 world and 2020 European champion. In the 5 kilometre open water swim, he is a two-time European champion.
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 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.
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.
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.
The swimming competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were due to take place from 25 July to 6 August 2020 at the Olympic Aquatics Centre. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the games were postponed to 2021. However, their official name remained 2020 Summer Olympics with swimming events set for 24 July–1 August 2021 and marathon swimming set for 4–5 August 2021.
For the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the following qualification systems were in place. Qualification ended on 3 July 2016.
The men's marathon swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place on 16 August at Fort Copacabana, over a distance of 10 kilometres.
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.
Jamaica competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, from August 5 to 21, 2016. This marked its sixteenth Summer Olympic appearance as an independent nation, although it had previously competed in four other editions as a British colony, and as part of the West Indies Federation.
Great Britain competed at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia between 24 July to 9 August 2015.
Jordan Matthew Wilimovsky is an American competitive swimmer who specializes in open water swimming. At the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Russia, Wilimovsky won the gold medal in the 10 km open water event. Wilimovsky won by a margin of 12.1 seconds over the second-place finisher Ferry Weertman of the Netherlands. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Wilimovsky competed in both pool swimming and open water swimming events, becoming the first American to swim in both types of events at one Olympic Games.
Bradlee Logan Taylor Ashby is a New Zealand swimmer who represented his country at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He competed in the men's 200-meter individual medley and 200-meter butterfly.
Corey Charles Garth Main is a New Zealand swimmer who qualified to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the men's 100 metre backstroke.
Kristóf Rasovszky is a Hungarian Olympic swimmer. He represented his country at the 2016 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Olympics winning the silver medal in the 10 kilometre open water swim at the 2020 Olympic Games.
The swimming competitions at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima were held from 6 to 10 August at the Aquatic Centre. The open-water marathon was held on August 4 in Laguna Bujama.
The swimming competitions at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are scheduled to run from 27 July to 9 August 2024. Pool events will occur at the Paris La Défense Arena, with the two-day marathon swimming staged at Pont Alexandre III through the Seine River.
