Erica Rose on the English Channel Race

We caught up with Erica Rose in Chicago where she has begun a focused training program for the Great Channel Swim this August. Erica's excitement and energy were very evident.

Q1. So how do you feel?
A1. I'm so excited! It's such an amazing opportunity - I am thrilled to be a part of it.

Q2. How are you training for the Great Channel Swim?
A2. The focus of my training for the English Channel is building up my swimming yardage so that I am prepared to compete in a race that could last as long as nine or ten hours (obviously, I hope it won't take that long, but I need to be prepared). I will be training in Evanston, Illinois under the supervision of coach Bob Groseth. When it starts to warm up a little bit here in Chicago, I will incorporate lake swims into my training routine so that I become as familiar as possible with the feeling of swimming in very chilly water. I love to train and I am looking forward to the challenge that lies before me.

Q3. Are you nervous?
A3. Right now, I am much more excited than nervous about crossing the English Channel. It is something I have wanted to do for several years and to have the opportunity to do it - along side some of the world's very best open water swimmers - is an honor and a thrill for me. I'm sure I will become more nervous as August approaches, but for now, I'm very excited.

Q4. What are your goals?
A4. My main goal, of course, is to have a successful channel crossing. This will be my first time swimming the English Channel and I am very aware of the many challenges I might encounter along the way. At the same time, I know that I am not merely crossing the channel... I am racing across it! My goal is to be as competitive as possible with the other women who have been selected to compete in this event. I am among an incredibly elite crowd - and while I am honored and excited just to be part of the group, I am also focused and determined to represent my country as best I can in this prestigious event.

Q5. What would be your goal time?
A5. I don't think I can set a goal time right now. I want to be competitive with the other girls during the race. The speed we swim will be quite dependent on the weather we encounter on race day. The fastest time a woman has ever done is just under 7 and a half hours. If we get a good day, I would say there is an excellent chance that the record will be broken this summer. If it's a tough day, it will take longer. I just need to be physically and mentally prepared for whatever conditions we face.

Q6. Can you handle the cold water?
A6. I am not overly concerned about the cold water. I have raced in cold water before and I tend to handle it well. That said, I know it is a factor that needs to be taken very seriously and I do not want to underestimate the impact it could have on my performance. I will practice as much as I can in the chilly waters of Lake Michigan this spring. I did the Polar Bear Plunge here last year... it can't get much colder than that.

Q7. What is the longest swim you have done to date (both in terms of time and distance)?
A7. The longest swim I have done to date is the 88K (54.6 miles) Hernandarias Parana race in Argentina. I have done that swim twice. The first time, it took me just over 10 hours - which makes it the longest swim I have ever done in terms of both time and distance. I'm definitely hoping that crossing the English Channel will take less than ten hours this summer.

Top two photos of Erica were taken by Dr. Jim Miller at the 2003 and 2005 World Swimming Championships. Lower photo was taken by TYR which has sponsored Erica for years.

America's Hope in the Most Amazing Race

Erica Rose, America's best marathon swimmer over the last ten years, has confirmed her participation in the greatest endurance race of 2009: the Great Channel Swim across the English Channel.




Erica, who transitioned from the world's 5K champion in 1998 to one of the top professional marathon swimmers in the world, will face a stellar field of experienced marathon swimmers from all over the world.


Russians Yuri Kudinov and Natalya Pankina, Bulgarian Petar Stoychev, Cassandra Patten of Great Britain, Stefanie Biller of Germany and Australians Shelley Clark and Brendan Capell have committed to compete in the world's most iconic channel. The final list of competitors will be announced shortly by Nova International.

Erica has traveled the world competing against the world's fastest marathon swimmers - and she will need every kilometer of experience in the Channel:

2007
1st - 25K USA National 25K Championships
1st - 5K Chicago Big Shoulders
2nd - 9K Rosario Professional Marathon Swim in Argentina
2nd - 34K Lac Memphremagog FINA Grand Prix in Canada
3rd - 88K Hernandarias-Parana FINA Grand Prix in Argentina
3rd - 57K Santa Fe-Coronda FINA Grand Prix in Argentina
3rd - 10K Viedma Swimin Argentina
3rd - FINA Grand Prix Series (overall ranking)
4th - 10K USA National Championships
4th - 32K Lac St-Jean FINA Grand Prix in Canada
4th - 36K Capri-Napoli FINA Grand Prix in Italy

2006
1st - 10K Pan American Championships in Ecuador
1st - 5K Pan American Championships in Ecuador
1st - 25K USA National Championships
1st - 32K Lac St-Jean FINA World Cup in Canada
2nd - 10K Seville FINA World Cup in Spain
3rd - 1.5K Tiburon Swim in California, USA
4th - 10K USA National Championships
4th - 25K World Open Water Swimming Championships in Italy
4th - 36K Capri-Napoli FINA World Cup in Italy
10th - 10K World Open Water Swimming Championships in Italy

2005
1st - 25K USA National Championships
2nd - 10K USA National Championships
4th - 37K Around the Island FINA World Cup in New Jersey, USA
4th - 36K Lac Magog FINA World Cup in Canada
6th - 32K Lac St-Jean FINA World Cup in Canada
6th - 88K Hernandarias-Parana FINA World Cup in Argentina
7th - 57K Santa Fe-Coronda FINA World Cup in Argentina
7th - 21K Rosario FINA World Cup in Argentina
8th - 15K Sumidero Canyon FINA World Cup in Mexico
9th - 25K World Swimming Championships in Canada
9th - 10K World Swimming Championships in Canada

2004
1st - USA Nationals, Ft. Myers, Florida, 10K
1st - Pan American Championships, Playa Blanca, Panama, 5K
1st - Pan American Championships, Playa Blanca, Panama, 10K
2nd - USA Nationals, Ft. Myers, Florida, 25K
3rd - Tiburon Mile Swim, Tiburon, California, 1.5K
8th - Lac Magog FINA World Cup, Magog, Canada, 36K
9th - 10K for the USA, Atlantic City, New Jersey, 10K
11th - 25K World Open Water Swimming Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
16th - 10K World Open Water Swimming Championships, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2003
1st - 10K USA National Championships
1st - 2.5K Alcatraz Shark Fest in California, USA
2nd - 25K USA National Championships
9th - 1.5K Tiburon Mile Swim in California, USA
11th - 10K World Swimming Championships in Spain

2002
1st - 10K USA National Championships in California, USA
1st - 10K for the USA in New Jersey, USA
1st - 2K Yangtzee River Crossing in China
3rd - 5K Pirate's Week in Cayman Islands
4th - 5K USA National Championships

2001
1st - 10K USA National Championships
7th - 5K World Swimming Championship in Japan
14th - 10K World Swimming Championships in Japan

2000
3rd - 5K USA National Championships

1999
1st - 5K USA National Championships
1st - 5K Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Australia
1st - 5K Pre-World Championships in Hawaii, USA

1998
1st - 5K USA National Championships
1st - 5K World Swimming Championships in Australia

1997
1st - 5K USA National Championships
1st - 5K Pre-World Championships in Australia

1996
2nd - 5K USA National Championships

We will post an interview with Erica later today. Her excitement is contagious as she gears up her training for the most prestigious, most challenging race of her career.

Upper photo provided by TYR that has sponsored Erica for years.

The Evolution of the Sport

In a recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald, Steve Meacham writes about racing etiquette and high-tech swim suits.

His article touched on the debate among swimmers in the build-up to the Big Swim in Sydney, Australia.

The open water swimming community is debating if competitors should be allowed to swim in the latest high-tech suits. But, the Big Swim enthusiasts delve even deeper into more fundamental issues: Is it acceptable for faster swimmers to swim over the top of slower competitors? Should race organizers police antisocial behavior especially around the turn buoys?

Because our sport is growing FAST all over the world attracting people of all ages and abilities to events in every kind of water, we will inevitably run up against various issues. Fortunately, the sport, its rules, its equipment, its training methodologies, its timing technology, its national and international infrastructure and its athletes are continuously evolving … for the better.

To use an open water analogy, we may be swimming in a bit of rough water now, but the currents are strongly in our favor.

This year, the Big Swim organizers leveled the playing field by forcing swimmers to wear conventional swim suits. The organizers decided that the swim suits must contain no neoprene or any other 'high-tech' material or any material with any flotation support. The male suits cannot cover any part of their body above the waist and female suits cannot cover their arms or legs.


This decision eliminated the use of blueseventy, Speedo, TYR and other high-tech swim suits to the satisfaction of purists.

For those who did make the investment in a high-tech suit, they may be disappointed. From our perspective, a better alternative is to offer a 'high-tech' race and a 'traditional' race for the competitors.

We say: double the fun, don't half the alternatives.


Unlike pool swimming which is limited to 8 people racing in rectangular chlorinated pools with lines, lanes and controlled water temperature, open water swimming venues and competitions are only limited by the creativity of race directors and the desires of swimmers.

It is our belief – backed by observations and economic reality – that open water swimmers – both newcomers and veterans – will continue to demand and purchase a variety of high-tech suits, wetsuits and all kinds of new products that have yet to be designed or manufactured.

While many people enjoy open water swimming primarily for the challenge of finishing and the camaraderie of the sport, many others like to push themselves to see how fast they can swim – whether it is a race against others or as a comparison to their previous performance.

While we understand and greatly appreciate swimming in nothing but a traditional swim suit and goggles, we also understand why many people enjoy the speed and performance enhancement they feel in a high-tech suit.

While we understand the sense of fairness and establishing a level playing field, we also wonder think that if high-tech suits are allowable in the pool, then they should also be allowed in open water events.

While we understand the high-tech suits are costly and not everyone can afford them, we also think that a more restrictive policy is not optimal in a sport that is growing and attracting new enthusiasts every day.

While we understand and appreciate the challenge of swimming in cold water, and learning how to swim properly without having the advantages of high-tech suits, we also greatly appreciate the financial support the new high-tech suit manufacturers have provided to the sport.

Isn't it better to keep both sides of the debate happy? From Hong Kong to Helsinki, many races have a 'wetsuit' and a 'non-wetsuit' division. Give more awards – not fewer – and keep more swimmers happy.


Perhaps another alternative is to establish a new award category With contemporary timing systems, it is easy to compare the times of the 'high-tech' swimmers versus the 'traditional' swimmers. To create a little buzz, race directors can handicap the competitors.

That is, if the average time of high-tech swimmers from the previous year is 90 seconds faster than the times of traditional swimmers, then the high-tech swimmers can be handicapped by 90 seconds. See who 'wins' the race and give that swimmer a special award.

In any case, the Big Swim has made its decision. Some people are happy; some are not; and others are indifferent. Swimmers can now swim mano-a-mano under traditional rules competing for the same prizes. We applaud the decision-makers.

On the other hand, we believe open water swimming is extremely enjoyable for a rapidly increasing number of individuals. Not only are there race directors who see the value in allowing high-tech suits, but there are also many newcomers and veterans who enjoy racing in a high-tech suit.

In summary, we believe the demand for fast suits and new technology will continue at an unrelenting pace while purists can still enjoy the sport in the manner they see fit.

The evolution of the sport is good for all.

What To Wear

Speedo or TYR? XTerra Wetsuits or Blueseventy? Arena or Diana? We have written about what the world's elite marathon swimmers wore at the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships (click here), but this is a difficult decision for everyone.



FINA is currently reviewing the procedures for swimwear approval, specifically in terms of the swimsuit material, thickness, use, shape and availability.



The swimwear manufacturers, FINA Technical Swimming Committee (whose members include Don Blew of Australia, Carol Zaleski of the USA, Soeren Korbo of Denmark, Ricardo Moura of Brazil, Javier Careaga of Mexico, Harold Cliff of Canada, Shigeo Ogata of Japan, Yuan Jiawei of China, Ben Ekumbo of Kenya, Michel Salles of France, Andrea Thielenhaus of Germany and Andriy Vlaskov of Ukraine), FINA Athletes Commission (whose members include Janet Evans of the USA, Alexander Popov of Russia, Gustavo Borges of Brazil, Penny Heyns of South Africa, Fernando Platas of Mexico, Luo Xuejuan of China, Miyako Tanaka of Japan, Irina Viguzova of Russia, Francesco Attolico of Italy, Karine Schuler of France, Daniel Kowalski of Australia and Attila Czene of Hungary), FINA Coaches Commission (whose members include Osvaldo Arsenio of Argentina, Leiff Carlsson of Sweden, Alan Thompson of Australia, Shaozhen Zhong of China, Juan Jane Giralt of Spain and John Leonard of the USA) and the FINA Legal Commission will meet in Lausanne, Switzerland on February 20, 2009.

The different commissions will discuss the current issues facing the sport and study eventual solutions for the future, together with independent experts. FINA will then take appropriate action in the FINA Bureau meeting from March 12-14, 2009 in Dubai (UAE).

The issue of swimwear approval is clearly a complex one and, to its credit, FINA is asking for collaboration from its stakeholders, so its final decisions can be globally accepted and understandable by the worldwide swimming community.

Upper photo by Javier Blazquez at the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships.

The Crossover: Blending Pool and Open Water Swimming

At the highest levels in open water swimming, crossover athletes from the pool have always done well. John Kinsella was an Olympic gold medalist and 1500-meter world record holder before he dominated the professional marathon swimming circuit in the 1970’s. Paul Asmuth got 4th in the 1650-yard freestyle at the NCAA Division I Swimming Championships before dominating the professional marathon swimming circuit during the 1980’s, Penny Lee Dean was a 6-time collegiate All-American before smashing the English Channel record, Lynne Cox swam under famed coach Don Gambril before setting records around the world’s oceans, Keo Nakama won 27 national pool swimming titles before becoming the first person to cross the 44K (27-mile) Molokai Channel in Hawaii are just some of these pool stalwarts who have performed well in open water swimming.

Even Duke Kahanamoku set his first world record in the open water when he broke 55.4 in Honolulu Harbor.

Nowadays it seems that many great pool swimmers are flocking to the ocean. Aaron Peirsol, the 7-time Olympic medalist, just put on his first Race for the Oceans event in Florida together with Rowdy Gaines. In addition to being a 3-time Olympic gold medalist and 4-time NBC announcer at the Olympics, Rowdy also annually announcing at the RCP Tiburon Mile with 4-time Olympic gold medalist John Naber.

Natalie Coughlin has participated in the Fiji Swims as have Shane Gould, John Konrads, Debbie Meyers, Murray Rose and several other Olympic medalists from 1956 to 2008.

During these last few months alone, Beijing Olympic hero Jazon Lezak participated in the Swim for Life, 14 Olympians participated in the Swim Across America swim in San Francisco Bay and Oussama Mellouli competed in the RCP Tiburon Mile. And, of course, three British pool swimmers, Keri-Anne Payne (200 and 400 individual medley), Cassandra Patten (800-meter freestyle) and David Davies (1500-meter freestyle) took 50% of the available medals at the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim only days after competing in the pool events at the Beijing Olympics.

And they weren't the only ones: Petar Stoychev did his best time in the 1500-meter freestyle only days before finishing sixth in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim. Others including Marianna Lymperta and Spyridon Gianniotis of Greece and Kristel Kobrich also competed in both the pool and marathon swims in Beijing.

The annual Flowers Sea Swim in the Cayman Islands has always attracted many Olympic pool swimming medalists, including Klete Keller, Chris Thompson, Anthony Nesty, Ian Crocker, Neil Walker, Rada Owen, Kristy Kowal, Brooke Bennett and Chad Carvin and NCAA Division I champions such as Ryan Lochte and Shaune Fraser.


And, now in advertising, it seems that the cross-over – both ways – between open water swimming and pool swimming has begun. Micha Burden, one of the top American open water swimmers and a pool swimmer with the Mission Viejo Nadadores, is now one of the more prolific models gracing the marketing materials of TYR.

Micha has also appeared elsewhere in the press and aquatic advertising.


TYR also used Pan American Games 10Kchampion and 2-time 800-meter freestyle champion Fran Crippen as the model for the TYR Tracer Light high-tech competition suits.

Pool to open water. Open water to pool. Pool and open water. The fusion has begun. And, at least in advertising and among many athletes, the borders between the two disciplines appears to be fading a bit.



Photos of International Swimming Hall of Fame honorees a Penny Lee Dean and Lynne Cox are from the International Swimming Hall of Fame website. Photos of the Fiji Swims Olympians is courtesy of Fiji Swims. Photos of Micha Burden and Fran Crippen are courtesy of TYR.Copyright © 2009 by Open Water Source

Best Open Water Swimming Suit

At the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships in Seville, arguably the most pressure-packed, competitive, fast-paced open water swimming race in history, other than the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim , it was interesting to note the types of swim suits worn by the athletes.

On the women’s side, I was able to confirm the following competitive suits that the athletes wore in the 10K Olympic qualification swim:

Speedo – 22
blueseventy – 7
TYR – 5
Arena – 4
Adidas – 2
NIKE – 1
Diana – 1

On the men’s side, I was able to confirm the following swim suits that the athletes wore:

Speedo – 12
blueseventy – 12
Arena – 8
TYR – 3
Adidas – 3

It must be noted that I was only able to confirm the suits of 42 of the 51 female swimmers in the competition and 38 of the 55 male swimmers due to the myriad activities at the start and finish of the event. I observed these suits with a colleague while we were standing near the starting dock before each of the 10K races on May 3rd (women) and May 4th (men), 2008

NOTE: this information should NOT be taken as definitive information or an implied or explicit endorsement of any particular suit style or manufacturer. As any manufacturer, coach, swimmer or data analyst knows, the unknown information on the remaining 9 female swimmers and the remaining 17 male swimmers can change the interpretation of the information presented. Additionally, some federations had required swimmers to wear certain swim suits, while other federations left the decision up to the athletes.

Upper photo taken just before the start of the women's Olympic 10K qualification race at the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships.

Lower photo taken by Giorgio Scala of Deep Blue Media.

Men's Olympic 10K Marathon Swim - Wild & Wet

The 25 athletes below are now down at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park,for the men's Olympic 10K Marathon Swim...in the driving rain. Stay tuned at NBC Olympics.com to see a great open water battle for the gold.


1 – Allan Do Carmo, Brazil
2 - Jose Francisco Hervas, Spain
3 – Valerio Cleri, Italy
4 – Igor Chervynskiy,Ukraine
5 – Chad Ho, South Africa
6 – Thomas Lurz, Germany
7 – Tong Xin, China
8 – Brian Ryckeman, Belgium
9 – Erwin Maldonado, Venezuela
10 - David Davies, Great Britain
11 - Saleh Mohammad, Syria
12 - Arseniy Lavrentyev, Portugal
13 – Mohamed El Zanaty Metwaly Mez, Egypt
14 – Evgeny Drattsev, Russia
15 - Damian Blaum, Argentina
16 - Csaba Gercsak, Hungary
17 - Maarten van der Weijden, Netherlands
18 - Mark Warkentin, USA
19 - Rostislav Vitek, Czech Republic
20 - Vladimir Dyatchin, Russia
21 - Petar Stoychev, Bulgaria
22 - Luis Escobar, Mexico
23 - Ky Hurst, Australia
24 - Gilles Rondy, France
25 - Gianniotis Spyridon, Greece

Photo of Mark Warkentin by TYR.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association