Close Marathon Finishes

The American press, from ESPN to CNN, colorfully reported on the very close finish at today's Boston Marathon where Kenya's Salina Kosgei out-ran Ethopia's Dire Tune in a time of 2:32:16 to 2:32:17.

Down-to-the-wire marathon runs are, frankly, rare.

In contrast, exciting down-to-the-wire finishes are the norm in marathon swimming. Rarely in the sport of marathon swimming is there a clear-cut victory.

Exciting...nail-biting...neck-and-neck...mano-a-mano...stroke-for-stroke...inseparable...too-close-to-call...photo-finish...these are words that most often appropriately the finishes at pro marathon swims and many open water swims around the world (see the men's 2007 world 10K championship finish on left).


While today's Boston Marathon was an exciting battle, can people outside of our open water swimming community imagine the physical toughness and mental strength it takes to constantly battle for over 8 hours in the water?

Above is a typical finish at a pro race and below is one video that shows Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria outswims Stéphane Gomez of France in a 57K (35.4 miles!) river race in Argentina (the 2008 Maratón Acuática Santa Fe - Coronda).

8 hours and 20 minutes of a neck-and-neck swim...enjoy the finish few minutes of the race.

International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame 2008 Class

The International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame also welcomed Paul (Jerry) Nason to its Class of 2008:

Jerry Nason of the USA was inducted due to his efforts as a renowned newspaper editor supportive of open water swimming.

Nason retired as the Executive Sports Director of the Boston Globe in 1974. During his career, he was an internationally known track and field writer and credited with the term Heartbreak Hill to the Boston Marathon vocabulary. As example of his writing, he wrote "...had to be the biggest upset since Boris Karloff won the favors of the Queen of the Junior Prom.”

His interests and efforts were not restricted to running. He loved all sports, especially those involving endurance. He was an avid fan and did much to support marathon swimming in the New England Marathon Swimming Association. His writing indicated that he fully understands not only the technical aspects of marathon swimming, but also the inner drive needed by the swimmer to complete the course. His reports on the annual Boston Light Swim to the L Street Bath House and other marathon swims gave the impression of actually being on the swimmer’s escort boat.