Race For Rome and Race For The Oceans

While Aaron Peirsol was busy setting a new world record in the 100-meter backstroke in 51.94 seconds at the USA Swimming World Swimming Championship trials in Indianapolis last night, we know that he and his business partners are also preparing for another Race for the Oceans in October.

The 7-time Olympic gold medalist announced he would award US$3,000 of his own money to the winners of his Race for the Oceans open water swim with the winners of the men's and women's 1K race winning US$1,500 each.

Excited by Aaron's leadership, Olympian Eric Shanteau, 3-time Olympic gold medalist Brooke Bennett, 4-time Olympic medalist Brendan Hansen, and world championship silver medalist Hayley Peirsol have also joined the cause and will contribute to the event.

"This event and cause have been a real passion for me," Aaron said. "I want to attract the best in the world to this event to promote and educate people about the severity of the issues facing our oceans. I decided it was time to back my passion for saving the oceans by matching the commitment with funds of my own to continue to build the excitement and help expand the cause."

Aaron will host the Race for the Oceans in Fort Myers, Florida, with 3-time Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines, as the master of ceremonies for the event. Aaron and Rowdy will also team up to teach a swim clinic for all ages on Saturday morning, October 10. "Protecting our world’s oceans is very important to me because I grew up swimming in the Pacific Ocean and now that I have a chance to make a difference, it’s important to me to help people understand that we can’t take the beauty of our oceans for granted. This is a great chance for people to experience the joy of swimming in Florida’s warm ocean waters and raise awareness for an important cause."

Aaron is partnership with Oceana, an organization that campaigns to protect and restore the world’s oceans with teams of marine scientists, economists, lawyers and advocates around the globe. The Race for the Oceans raises funds and awareness for Oceana for which Aaron is a spokesperson. Part of the proceeds from the event will go to clean up the oceans and raise awareness for the ongoing need to protect them.