Open water swimming takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, and lakes.
The beginning of the modern age of open water swimming is sometimes taken to be May 3, 1810, when Lord Byron swam several miles to cross the Hellespont (now known as the Dardanelles) from Europe to Asia.
In the first edition of the modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, the swimming competition was held in open water. In 2000, the Olympic Games first included a triathlon with a 1500 m swim leg, and in 2008, a 10 km open water swim. 5, 10, and 25 km open water races are included in the General Fina World Championships.
The activity has grown in popularity in recent years with the publication of bestselling books on "wild swimming" by authors such as Kate Rew and Daniel Start.
Read more about Open Water Swimming: Equipment Used in Competitions, Wetsuit Usage, Subcategories, Competitions
Famous quotes containing the words open, water and/or swimming:
“Blow the dust off the clock. Your watches are behind the times. Throw open the heavy curtains which are so dear to you—you do not even suspect that the day has already dawned outside.”
—Alexander Solzhenitsyn (b. 1918)
“A spring,
A pool among the rock
If there were the sound of water only”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“Mead had studied for the ministry, but had lost his faith and took great delight in blasphemy. Capt. Charles H. Frady, pioneer missionary, held a meeting here and brought Mead back into the fold. He then became so devout that, one Sunday, when he happened upon a swimming party, he shot at the people in the river, and threatened to kill anyone he again caught desecrating the Sabbath.”
—For the State of Nebraska, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)