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  Vote For The World Open Water Swimming Woman Of The YearVoting for the World Open Water Swimming Awards continues until December 31st, 2011.This WOWSA Award for Woman of the Year is not necessarily for the best athlete, but are meant to honor the individual who (1) best embodies the spirit of open water swimming, (2) possesses the sense of adventure, tenacity and perseverance that open water swimmers are known for, and (3) has most positively influenced the world of open water swimming in 2011. http://dailynews.openwaterswimming.com/2011/12/voting-progress-for-world-open-water_6428.html A new seeding swim for the annual aQuelle Midmar MileA new seeding swim for the annual aQuelle Midmar Mile that takes place at the Midmar Dam resort in Kawzulu Natal on the 11th and 12th February next year, has been introduced in the Gauteng area.aQuelle and the Ebotse Golf and Country Estate have come together along with the Rynfield Primary School in Benoni to continue having a seeding swim on Sunday 15 January 2012. The proceeds will be going to the Rynfield Primary School in order to upgrade their swimming facilities, with the long term goal being a possible indoor swimming venue. "We had a water quality problem at a previous venue," said Race Convenor Wayne Riddin. "We are pleased that Ebotse and the Rynfield Primary School have agreed to host the seeding swim at the Rynfield Dam and I hope that we will be able to support the school in improving their facilities." The dam is one of the cleanest in the Gauteng area and should attract a large entry that accommodates those wishing to get in a final seeding swim. There is R20 000 up for grabs at the inaugural event supported by Pastel Payroll as well. "We have introduced a spectator event as well, a 4 x 400m swim to attract the top swimmers where they can win some great prizes," said Riddin. The 4 x 400m swim will involve teams of two females and two males with the order being female/male/ female/male. Prize money will be for the winning team while the fastest male and female swimmers from the relay swim will earn prize money for their efforts. The next closing date before the Midmar Mile entry fee goes up again is 16 December. Enquiries can be made to the office on 033-3410790 Midmar Mile 2012The 39th aQuelle Midmar Mile received another boost with the confirmation of leading USA swimmers Christine Jennings and Ashley Twichell for the 2012 event at the popular Midmar Dam resort in Kwazulu Natal on the 11th and 12th February next year.They will be the first USA swimmers who will challenge at the Midmar Mile that has been dominated by former South African Keri-Anne Payne from Great Britain. Payne has enjoyed tremendous success in open water where she won the World 10km Championships in July and earned a silver medal in the 10km at the Beijing Olympics. Jennings is one of the fastest open water swimmers in the world with two FINA World Cup victories to her name. She won the prestigious RCP Tiburon Mile in San Francisco, finished 4th in the 5K and 7th in the 10K at the 2010 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships in Canada. She was the bronze medalist in the 10K race at the 2011 Pan American Games in Mexico and the gold medal at the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships 10K. Jennings has been a 4-year member of the USA National Open Water Swim Team and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2009. She is one of the favorites to represent the USA at the 2012 Olympic 10K Marathon Swim qualification race in Portugal. Twichell is an emerging athlete in the elite echelon of open water swimming. Her breakout performance was at the 2011 FINA World Swimming Championships where she earned a gold medal in the 5K Team Event and a bronze medal in the 5K race in a photo finish. Twichell is a graduate of Duke University who was named the 2011 USA Swimming Female Open Water Swimmer of the Year. She won the 5K race at the 2011 USA National Open Water Championships and finished third in the 10K to earn a spot on the USA National Open Water Swim Team. She is one of the favorites to represent the USA at the 2012 Olympic 10K Marathon Swim qualification race in Portugal. Coach Bill Rose will be accompanying his swimmers and is one of America's most highly recognized and honoured swimming coaches, both in the pool and open water. He has been the head coach and CEO of America's most decorated swim team, the Mission Viejo Nadadores for many years. He has coached several USA Swimming national teams at international competitions, including at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2007 and 2009 FINA World Swimming Championships, the 1995 Pan American Games, the 2003 Pan American Games, the 1997, 1999 and 2006 World University Games and the 2008 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships. He has also coached several international athletes to the Olympics, including the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was inducted in the American Swim Coaches Hall of Fame in 2004. The man who has made this all possible is Steven Munatones, who attended his first Midmar Mile in February 2011. He is an open water swimming commentator, coach, researcher and writer. He won the 1982 World Long Distance Swimming Championships, was a 9-time USA National Open Water Swim Team coach and the NBC commentator at the 2008 Beijing Olympics 10K swim. He was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame and is now its Chief Administrator and Director. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily News of Open Water Swimming and authored Open Water Swimming, a text book of the sport. He also created Openwaterpedia, the World Open Water Swimming Awards, the Open Water Swimming Dictionary, World's Top 100 Open Water Swims, World Swimming Majors (an open water swimming ranking system) and the Half Century Club. He also has compiled over 700 open water swimming records around the world. The Americans will be joined by another leading personality. Martin Strel is the legendary Slovenian long-distance swimmer known as the Big River Man. Strel has set world records around the world, including completing unprecedented stage swims along the entire length of the Danube River in Europe, the Mississippi River in the USA, the Yangtze River in China and the Amazon River in South America. The multi-lingual personable endurance athlete has set numerous world records including a 504.5 kilometer non-stop swim in the Danube River when he stayed awake and swam for a total of 84 hours and 10 minutes. He has appeared on American and European television programs where he shares his goals of swimming for peace, friendship and clean waters with the local communities and international media. Strel will arrive early and be involved in a number of public appearances leading up to the aQuelle Midmar Mile. Released by: Wayne Riddin Race Director NEWS: Enourmous boost for 2012 The 39th aQuelle Midmar Mile received an enormous boost for February 2012 when Martin Strel, known as the 'Big River Man', confirmed his intention to swim. Born in Slovenia in 1954, Strel holds successive Guinness World Records for swimming the Danube river, the Mississippi River, the Yangtze River, and the Amazon River. During his swims, he sleeps for 5 hours each day. He prepares himself for a long-distance swim over a year and a half. It usually takes 6 to 7 months for Strel to recover physically. His motto is "swimming for peace, friendship and clean waters." Strel's first two river swims were the Krka river (105 km) in his homeland, in 28 hours in 1992, and the boundary Kolpa river (62 kilometres (39 mi)), in 16 hours in 1993. In 2000, he swam the Danube River (2,860 kilometres (1,780 mi)) and achieved the world long distance swimming record (3,004 kilometres (1,867 mi)) in 58 days. In July 2001, he achieved one more world record — 504.5 kilometres (313.5 mi) of non-stop swimming in Danube within 84 hours and 10 minutes. In 2002, he swam the entire Mississippi River (3,885 kilometres (2,414 mi)) in 68 days. In 2003, he swam the Argentine Paraná River (3,998 kilometres (2,484 mi)). On 10 June 2004, Martin started swimming down the Yangtze River (4,003 kilometres (2,487 mi), the longest river in Asia, the third longest in the world) in China. He reached Shanghai in 40 days on 30 July 2004, one day before planned. Strel swam the Amazon River, commencing on 1 February 2007,[2] finishing 66 days later on April 7, 2007. This was a record-breaking distance of 5,268 kilometres (3,273 mi), longer than the width of the Atlantic Ocean. He had escort boats that were prepared to pour blood into the river to distract meat-eating fish such as piranhas. | |||||||||
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