International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame

Long after Honorees pass - there are often permanent reminders....

Honoree Tom Blower - first to swim the North Channel (street in his home town)

Please support this....

As in the past years - the Olympic 10k swim is being reviewed by the International Olympic Committee. They are trying to hold the line and reduce the number of participants at the summer Olympics.

Please consider supporting this petition of support:

https://www.change.org/p/save-open-water-swimming-at-the-2032-brisbane-olympics?

Sign the Petition SAVE OPEN WATER SWIMMING AT THE 2032 BRISBANE OLYMPICS

Many Honorees excelled at other sports: rodeo, triathlon, rowing, water polo, etc.

Honoree Sri Chinmoy was a noted "strong man" - here lifting Honoree Dr. David Smith in 1988. Kevin Murphy - you have a story as well?

Sri Chinmoy was an Indian teacher, poet, artist and athlete who inspired many in the endurance sports world. He is the namesake of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team that organizes athletic events worldwide including the 26.4 km International Self-Transcendence Marathon-Schwimmen. Members of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, who have received many awards, honors and recognitions, have swum the English Channel at least 38 times. His followers continue to organize the prestigious and highly popular International Self-Transcendence Marathon-Schwimmen that draws an international crowd and is sold-out year after year.

The recent post about the speed record set by Honoree Penny Lee Dean EdD 50 years ago in Catalina begged the question:

WHICH HONOREE HOLDS THE LONGEST RECORD?

The IMSHOF biographies have a wording convention:

"Set the ....... record in # # in swim ....... which held in 20YZ (and beyond)."

The object was to allow a review every few years to see if the record had been broken and drive a update to: "and held until 2027" example.

A simple search of all biographies gave 85 containing the word "beyond". A stunning result which further endorses that IMSHOF selected deserving Honorees. Then these names were compared to dates of birth. Four Honoree then gave what is probably the oldest standing record (excluding first ever).

Francis "Frank" Pritchard (1937)

Helge Jensen (1958)

Commander Gerald Forsberg, OBE, Master Mariner, FNI, Royal Navy (Retired) (1959)

Greta Andersen (1962)

1. You will need to go and read yourself their biography -
https://www.imshof.org/honorees-by-name

2. Have any of these records been broken? Let us know

Enjoy

Honorees | IMSHOF All Honorees in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (IMSHOF) listed in alphabetical order based on their last names.

Risultati finali

Memories on the birth date of Honoree Jon Erikson

He was the first person to do a 3-way English Channel in 1981 in 38 hours and 27
minutes. As part of 11 total crossings, he also completed 3 times 2-way swims. In his first in 1975 he set the record as the youngest which stood until 1977. Jon first completed the channel in 1969 as a 14 year old setting a male record which stood until 1988.

History 115 years ago today: Honoree Tom Burgess English Channel success after after 12-15 attempts. He must have been relieved and HAPPY!

The September IMSHOF Newsletter is now available

IMSHOF Newsletters | IMSHOF Newsletters for the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (IMSHOF).

Happy Birthday to legendary IMSHOF Honor Pilot David Whyte! Your 25 years of expertly guiding hundreds of swimmers safely across the English Channel have left an indelible legacy in the open-water community.