Maria Luisa Cabañeros Sanchez de Leon of
Miguelturra in Cuidad Real, Spain was a member of the
International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame's Class of 2009. Maria's Hall of Fame career was a classic combination of solo swims, professional marathon swims and channel relays.
Maria Luisa Cabañeros Sanchez de Leon set three
Strait of Gibraltar records from Spain to Africa (3:56:58), from Africa to Spain (5:55) and a double-crossing (10:58:56). She also finished high in professional marathon swims in Italy (
Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli, Ponza-San Felice de Circo, Rivera de Alassio), Argentina (
Maratón Acuática Santa Fe-Coronda, Hernandarias-Parana, Mar del Plata), Canada (Sylvan Lake in Alberta and Lac Memphremagog in Quebec), USA (Around the Island Marathon Swim in Atlantic City), Macedonia (
Ohrid Swimming Marathon, Brazil (Tapes) and Mexico (
Sumidero Canyon Open Water Swimming Grand Prix).
Maria also did the famous
Faros Marathon Swim in Croatia and several marathon swims in Spain, France and Sweden from 1988-2007. She was the 5K European Open Water Swimming champion in 1989 and set a record of 82,575 meters in a 24-hour pool swim in Spain.
She also did a
4-person English Channel crossing from England to France in 8:41:35 and across Loch Ness in 14:09.
Cold water, warm water, fresh water, salt water, rivers, lakes and oceans, solo swims, relay swims and pro swims. Maria welcomed any and all open water challenges during her career.
18-year-old Sufyan Shaikh of India dreams big and has traveled the world in pursuit of his dreams.
