Fran Crippen SafeSwim Elite Athletes Announced

Top swimmers from around the world will gather at the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Florida this weekend to honor the memory of Fran Crippen.

Top Americans, Australians and Canadians and a handful of other elite swimmers should make the race blazing fast and interesting to watch.

Live tweet coverage will be here.

Olympian Ky Hurst, Australian national team member Rhys Mainstone, top Canadian pro Richard Weinberger, Aimeson King, Zachary Parks and Simon Tobin, world 10K silver medalist Andrew Gemmell (shown above congratulating Fran in the 2009 World Championships in Rome), world 25K champion Alex Meyer, world 10K champion Chip Peterson, national champion Chad LaTourette and other top American men Joey Pedraza and Vincent Donnelly, Yasunari Hirai of Japan, and top Americans will participate in the first Fran Crippen SafeSwim 10K in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

On the women's side, world 5K champion Melissa Gorman, top Canadians Nadine Williams, Zsofia Balazs, Karyn Jewell, Olympian Jana Pechanova, world 5K champion Eva Fabian, 2-time FINA World Cup champion Christine Jennings, top American swimmers Emily Brunemann, Claire Thompson and Damaris Iriondo will be competing for the cash prizes in what is hailed as a race setting the standards for open water swimming safety.

The elite athletes like Alex, Mark, Andrew, Eva, Emily and the rest of their American and Canadian swimmers are completing their final tune-ups for their respective national championships.

The Fran Crippen SafeSwim will be held in the same course as the American and Canadian national championships in June - the first step in realizing their dreams to win Olympic medals in 2012.

Read it live here this coming Saturday, May 7th.

Copyright © 2011 by Open Water Source

The Young Ones Take A LIME 800M Open Water Swim

The Cayman Islands Amateur Swimming Association (CIASA) held its annual LIME 800M Open Water Sea Swim on Grand Cayman Island this weekend where 112 swimmers gathered under great conditions.

A group of young Camana Bay Aquatic Club swimmers under the guidance of coach Katie Lambert made their first appearance for the competition.

Katie led 22 children, all twelve-years-old and under, including her four-year-old son Lachlin to complete the swim - some for the first time.

"We had swimmers ranging in age from 4-12 years old swim today and all finished. I am so proud of them and that they all wanted to do it and never gave up! To see them smile when they finished knowing that they just swam the whole race because they belived that they could, was amazing. These kids are where it all starts and I know they will do great things. They all work so hard in swimming and today was their moment! I was a proud mom and coach today."

Copyright © 2011 by Open Water Source

Open Water Swim To A Sunken Ship

Approximately 800 meters off the northern shore of Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman lies the USS Kittiwake, a decommissioned U.S. Navy ship. Crews carefully flooded the 1945-vintage submarine rescue ship this year, where it currently rests on the floor of the Caribbean Sea attracting marine life and tourists.

Open water swimmers in the area have made this destination a one-mile adventure swim - going out 800 meters to the ship, exploring, then swimming 800 meters back to shore. Like pirates of old, seeking this open water swimming treasure is a treat in the gorgeously beautiful waters of the Cayman Islands.

Barb Hampson explained, "Kate Alexander and I swam out to the Kittiwake earlier this year in January. It was a first for both of us and was a nice easy swim to get there and a surreal experience.

Standing on the top deck of the ship doing a 360° of the surrounding area, the movie Titanic came to mind. There was very little in the way of sea life, but it was a memorable swim nonetheless. But I did another swim a week ago [four months after the first swim]. I could not believe the difference in the sea life surrounding the wreck and am now looking forward to even more creatures taking up residence in the future."

The typical Caribbean Sea clarity truly creates a real-world aquarium.

Copyright © 2011 by Open Water Source

The Big River Man Martin Strel Talks About His Upcoming Swims

Copyright © 2011 by Open Water Source