International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame

Happy Birthday to the incredible Grace "Gracie" van der Byl! A force of nature in the water, your record-setting Catalina Channel crossing and dedication to the sport are truly inspiring. Wishing you another wonderful year!
PIC CREDIT: Swimming World.

Happy Birthday to Coach Nev Smith! Your incredible career as an International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honour Administrator and your dedication to the Nev Smith Swim Squad have profoundly shaped the swimming community. Thank you for your decades of mentorship, passion, and leadership. Have a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday to the legendary Mickey Pittman! A true icon of the sea, his incredible career as a prolific Catalina Channel es**rt pilot helped swimming greats like Lynne Cox and Penny Dean achieve their dreams. Celebrating his remarkable legacy and his well-deserved place in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.

LongSwims just made it even easier to track your swimming challenges! Check out the new enhancements to their Challenge List pages!!

Happy birthday to Honoree Zhang Jian was the first, in 2001, swimmer resident in China to swim the English Channel – in 11 hours and 56 minutes.

In 2011 Zhang Jian was named as one of the top ten male athletes in China – bringing further honor and public attention to the sport.

Please let us know if you are in contact with him....

Happy Birthday to Honoree Val Parsons who was the honorary chairperson of the IMSHOF Honor Organization British Long Distance Swimming Association. Val assisted the Lake Windermere International 25 km swim held every four years. When FINA relaxed its rules on professionalism, Val and her husband IMSHOF Honoree Roger Parsons led the establishment of the International Marathon Swimming Federation (then renamed as Association) in 1991 to incorporate the two historic competing groups: World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation and International Long Distance Swimming Federation.

This led to the establishments of the FINA World Series of Marathon Swimming.
Val was one of England’s premier marathon swimmers: swam 43 races, female winner in 38 and beat all men in 17. She and Roger received The Irving Davids/Captain Roger W. Wheeler Memorial Award from the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2004 for their contribution to the administration of open water swimming.

Remembering Honoree Jerry Kerschner who won 1 Major: 1951 Canadian National Exhibition in 4 hours and 27 minutes. He was a prominent professional marathon swimmer from 1946 to 1954. In 1948, he won a 17 km race in Lake George, New York in 4 hours and 59 minutes. In the 10-mile Canadian National Exhibition swim in Toronto he was also third in 1947 and second in 1948. Known as the ‘Champ of the Gulf Coast Waters’ and the self-proclaimed “America’s Travelin’ Swim Coach”, he won several long-distance swims along the Gulf Coast every year.

Wishing Karen Reeder a very wonderful birthday!🥳🥳🥳🥳

Karen Burton - Wikipedia Karen Burton (born June 11, 1962) is an American former competition swimmer who specialized in long-distance freestyle and open water events. While competing in the 25-kilometer open-water event, she represented the United States at the 1998 World Aquatics Championships in Perth, Western Australia,....