The aquatics discipline of swimming has been the core component of every edition of the FINA World Aquatics Championships since its introduction in 1973. In 1991, open water swimming events were introduced to the program of the World Championships.
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.
Poliana Okimoto is a Brazilian long-distance swimmer.
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.
Sharon van Rouwendaal is a Dutch swimmer and the Olympic gold medalist in the 10 km open water marathon at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
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.
The women's marathon swimming over a distance of 10 kilometres at the 2012 Olympic Games in London took place on 9 August in the Serpentine at Hyde Park in London, United Kingdom.
Gregorio Paltrinieri is an Italian competitive swimmer. He is the Olympic and world long course and short course champion and three-times European long course champion in the 1500 m freestyle event at the 2012, 2014 and 2016 European Aquatics Championships, and two-times European long course champion in the 800 m freestyle event. Paltrinieri is a former 1500 m freestyle world record holder. He also holds the long course European records in the 800 m and 1500 m freestyle events with times of 7:39.27 and 14:32.80.
The swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 6 to 13 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium. The women's open-water marathon was held on August 15, and the men's open water race on August 16 in Fort Copacabana.
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.
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.
Great Britain competed at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia between 24 July to 9 August 2015.
Rachele Bruni is an Italian swimmer, specialising in open water long-distance races. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in 10 km open water.
The men's marathon 10 kilometre event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held on 5 August 2021 at the Odaiba Marine Park. It was the fourth appearance of the event, having first been held in 2008.
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.
Kathryn E. Grimes is an American competitive swimmer. At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, she won silver medals in the 1500 meter freestyle and the 400 meter individual medley. She placed fourth in the 800 meter freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she was the youngest member of the US Olympic Team at 15 years of age.
