Our Hero Among Heroes

Before the marathon swimmers have their day in the sun at the International Swimming Hall of Fame this September, one of the most prolific marathon swimmers of all time, Kevin Murphy (GBR), will be inducted among an elited group of honorees.

Only the greatest of marathon swimmers are honored by the International Swimming Hall of Fame - which requires a global vote of experts from all aquatic disciplines - and we are pleased to see Kevin honored among history's greatest aquatic heroes.

Kevin's fellow 2009 inductees include Olympic swimmers Inge De Bruijn of the Netherlands, Aleksandr Popov of Russia and Jenny Thompson of the USA, synchronized swimmer Olga Brusnikina of Russia, water polo player/coach Gianni Lonzi of Italy, coach Irraku Matsuzawa of Japan, contributor from synchronized swimming Judy McGowan of the USA and pioneer swimmer Iet van Feggelen of the Netherlands.

In addition, Kevin will be representing our community at a fete honoring the nine living USA Olympic swim team head coaches including Stan Tinkham (1956), Peter Daland (1964, 1972), Jack Nelson (1976), Don Gambril (1984), Mark Schubert (1992, 2000, 2004), Eddie Reese (1992, 2004, 2008), Skip Kenney (1996) and Jack Bauerle (2008). The event will be broadcast by SwimmingWorld.TV.

Certainly our sport will be well represented at the International Swimming Hall of Fame ceremonies in September.

It's An Honor To Know You, Tomás

Tomás Haces of Cuba is the chairman of the Unión Americana de Natación (UANA) Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and a member of the influential FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee.

Tomás is also among the candidates for the 2009 International Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Contributor for his work in the world of swimming. He has a truly impressive resume that never seems to take him too far away from the water.

The formal International Swimming Hall of Fame candidacy of Tomás Haces, whose full name is Teodolo Tomás Haces Germán, is as follows:

FINA-appointed clinician of swimming, officiating and open water swimming throughout the Caribbean and Central America; physical education professor with specialty in swimming; Central American and Caribbean Swimming Federation (CCCAN or la Confederación Centroamericana y del Caribe de Natación) Technical Swimming Committee president; UANA Open Water Swimming Committee chairman; FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee member.

At age 57, Teodolo Haces has helped Cuba and the Central Caribbean Nations have a better understanding of competitive swimming, particularly open water swimming. He has been appointed by FINA to deliver officiating, rules refereeing and open water swimming clinics over 15 times from 1996 to present in Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and El Salvador. He has delivered national rules and refereeing courses in Cuba eight times from 1986 to 2002, in all geographical parts of the country. All totaled, he has delivered over 36 seminars from 1996 to 2007.

A 1968 graduate as Professor of Physical Education, Teodolo, over the years, has conducted post graduate college courses in all aspects of swimming officiating, knowing the rules, and understanding open water swimming. He founded the Pinar del Rio Technical-Meteorological Section of Physical Culture and Sports. In 1979, he was appointed director of the National Sports Section of the province to include all aquatic disciplines as well as rowing, sailing, kayaking, and under water hunting. Three years later, he was also named Director of the Marcelo Salado National Training Center.

He was selected as the referee for the 1991 Pan American Games and co-referee of the 1995 Pan American Games. He has been a judge at CCCAN Tournaments, Central American and Caribbean Games, five Pan American Games, seven World Championships and the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. He is President of CCCAN Technical Swimming Committee and the UANA Open Water Committee. He is a member of the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and is a FINA judge for open water and swimming pool events.

Thank you very much for your dedication to the sport and your support of events and athletes around the world.

Standing Alone

Every year, the International Swimming Hall of Fame honors a maximum of nine inductees. There are nine categories from which inductees are selected: swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo, open water swimming, coach, contributor, pioneer (i.e., 50 years ago) and masters.

Already a member of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, Kevin Murphy stands alone to represent open water swimming in the nominated International Swimming Hall of Fame class of 2009.

Another Sign of the Times

In another example of the increasing cross-over between pool swimming and open water swimming, the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) and PMG Aquatics are working with Olympian Brendan Hansen and Rowdy Gaines to promote, host and expand the 39th Annual Ft. Lauderdale RoughWater Swim.

"We are very excited to be a part of this race with its incredible history and to partner with the International Swimming Hall of Fame in promoting a great open water event while simultaneously promoting a worthy cause in drowning prevention," said Bobby Brewer, Vice President of PMG Aquatics.


The Ft. Lauderdale RoughWater Swim on January 3, 2009, will feature one-mile race, a 5K race, a 3-person team race for the Ocean Mile and 5K race, and ¼- and ½-mile swims for the younger kids. It was started back in 1969 by the legendary Buck Dawson (shown on left), founder of the International Swimming Hall of Fame and one of the early open water swimming visionaries.

Photos of the Ft. Lauderdale RoughWater Swim start and turn from the Ft. Lauderdale RoughWater Swim website.

World's Greatest Swim Safari

The 36th Halfway Telkom Midmar Mile is the world's largest open water swim with over 19,000 people annually entering the 1-mile (1.6K) swim in Durbam, South Africa.

The February 2009 race will also include new 5K, 10K and 25K swims over the Midmar Mile weekend.

Interested international participants will be accommodated in the Sun Coast Casino in Durban - two minutes walking distance to the world-class Kings Park Aquatic Complex.

Additionally, sponsors will provide international participants with a real overnight safari! A truly African experience is guaranteed.

For additional details, contact headcoach@10Kswim.com.

Photo of start of Midmar Mile is provided by Africa Tourism.

In Celebration of Gertrude Ederle

Gertrude Ederle was selected as the third greatest female swimmer of all time behind Dawn Fraser and Janet Evans in a ranking compiled by the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

According to the International Swimming Hall of Fame, Ederle owned every freestyle world record from 100 to 800 meters. After a disappointing performance at the 1924 Olympics (1 gold and 2 bronze), she became the first woman to swim the English Channel in 1926.

Imagine today if the 100-meter freestyle world record holder also broke the English Channel record!

In 1925, Ederle swam across Lower New York Bay from Manhattan to Sandy Hook, taking over seven hours in preparation for swimming the English Channel.

In order to honor her exploits, the Manhattan Island Foundation annually holds the 17.5-mile Ederle Swim. This year's Ederle Swim will be held on October 25th.

Hungarian Teamwork in Beijing

This is a non-open water swimming story...but Jon Urbanchek has always greatly supported open water swimming throughout his famed four-decade coaching career. Jon has never discouraged his pool swimmers - from Olympians Klete and Kalyn Keller to young age-groupers - from participating in open water swims.

At the American Swimming Coaches Association World Clinic in Las Vegas, International Swimming Hall of Fame coaches Urbanchek and Peter Daland were talking about the special performances and remarkable athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"Rebecca pulled away from the overwhelming gold medal favorite from Australia in the last lap of the 200 breaststroke, setting a world record in the process," recalled Urbanchek. "That was really special."

In an especially touching moment, Urbanchek discussed how he and Hungarian-speaking Rebecca Soni, the surprise gold medalist in the 200-meter breaststroke, established a unique coach-athlete bond.

"Before we went to Beijing, I didn't know Rebecca spoke Hungarian. We really connected. Her parents also came to this country without anything. They couldn't afford to go to the Olympics to see her. I told her that when she is up on the [Olympic] podium to smile because her parents would be watching her and they would be very proud."

Rebecca's teammates and friends were similarly proud and happy for her. Millions of viewers worldwide watched Rebecca smile during the awards ceremony - as did her parents.

International Hall of Fame Honors Shelley Taylor-Smith

Early this year, Australian Shelley Taylor-Smith was awarded the International Swimming Hall of Fame's prestigious 2008 Irving Davids / Captain Roger W. Wheeler Memorial Award for service and contribution to the sport of marathon swimming.

The award marks Taylor-Smith's second International Swimming Hall of Fame award in 2008 after she received notification last year of her induction into the 2008 Hall of Fame class.

Taylor-Smith was at the US Olympic Swim Trials for her Honoree induction for outstanding achievements internationally in marathon swimming - the highest recognition awarded in her stellar career as a competitor. She joined 45 other Australians in the Hall of Fame including Forbes Carslile, Dawn Fraser, Shane Gould and Kieren Perkins.

“I owe a lot to a lot of people and these awards are not about me, they’re about the people around me that have helped me achieve what I’ve wanted,” Taylor-Smith said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them and for me personally, getting this recognition is more about the sport and those people. It’s like anything in life - if you stick to it you can make it and achieve what you want. The Davids - Wheeler Award is for my contribution and service to the sport but I never think of giving back to my sport as being a service. I think it’s a natural thing we should do in the community or a particular area of life that we’re passionate about.”

Taylor-Smith will be on the water in the official’s boat during the women's and men's Olympic 10K Marathon Swims and is currently serving as the Secretary-General of FINA’s Technical Open Water Swimming Committeee.

For her activities outside of FINA and the open water swimming community, go to Champion Mindset, Australia’s leading lifestyle success coaching, self development and motivation company.