Today is the first World Marathon Swimming Day

by klassman

140 Years and Counting…

LoneSwimmer

The Swimmers

August the 24th is the day in 1875 that Captain Matthew Webb successfully swam the English Channel, landing at Calais on his second attempt in under 22 hours. It’s the date that the sport of Channel and Marathon Swimming unofficially claims as its birth day, (disregarding previous unsuccessful attempts by Webb and others).

So following a suggestion by US marathon swimmer Leonard Jansen on the Marathon Swimmers Forum in May 2015, the non-profit voluntary and free swimming organisation that wrote the (only) Global Rules of Marathon Swimming, the organisation that runs the only peer- nominated and selected Marathon Swimming Awards, the Marathon Swimmers Federation announces today, August the 24th, as the first official World Marathon Swimming Day.

Because the Marathon Swimmers Federation is merely an expression of the worldwide community of marathon swimmers. We are all in this together.

An alternative day could the first day that someone conceived both of…

View original post 636 more words