The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 2000's
Any list of the Best Open Water Swimmers of the Decade is, by necessity, subjective. But it is certainly fun to discuss and debate among open water swimming historians and fans. Below are our choices for the Best Open Water Swimmers of the 2000's.
This selection of the Best Open Water Swimmers of the 2000's is based on four criteria with the following priority:
1. Champions - or swimmers who won major international races against the best swimmers of their era
2. Pioneers - or swimmers who completed unprecedented extreme swims of any distance in any location
3. Record Holders - or swimmers who set records across channels, lakes, seas, either in competition or on a solo swim
4. Endurers - or swimmers who swam for distance in any open body of water at various temperatures
That is, if a Champion is compared to a Pioneer, with all other things being equal, the Champion was given more weight in this subjective list. Similarly, if a Pioneer is compared to a Record Holder, with all other things being equal, the Pioneer is given placed higher in this subjective list. If a Record Holder is compared to an Endurer, with all things being equal, the Record Holder iss considered slightly higher than the Endurer in this subjective list.
Of course, if this subjective criteria were ordered differently (e.g., if Record Holders or Endurers carried more weight than Champions or Pioneers), then the ordering would undoubtedly be different - and so would many of the listed swimmers. This is, some would rise in the list and others would fall or be replaced.
That being said, many swimmers on this list of the 2000's proved themselves over their careers as a Champion, a Pioneer, a Record Holder, and an Endurer. Additionally, many swimmers competed in more than one decade. Because there are so many worthy candidates, each swimmer was honored in only one decade, that decade of their prime performances.
This list only includes solo and competitive swimmers. It includes swimmers - of both genders and of any age - who specialize in channel swimming, marathon swimming, extreme swimming, stage swimming, high-altitude swimming, ice swimming, and winter swimming in lakes, bays, rivers, oceans, seas, reservoirs, lochs, fjords, canals, and carved-out pool in frozen bodies of water. This list does not include pilots, coaches, authors, race directors, documentary filmmakers, seconds, crew members, or administrators. These individuals will be included in a follow-up series, The Best Open Water Swimming Personalities of the Decade, that will be subsequently published.
Best Open Water Swimmers of the 2000's
1. Thomas Lurz, Germany [shown above]
2. Larisa Ilchenko, Russia
3. Maarten van der Weijden, Netherlands
4. Yuri Kudinov, Russia
5. Edith van Dijk, PhD, Netherlands
6. Lewis Pugh, OIG, South Africa
7. Angela Maurer, OIG, MBE, South Africa
8. Britta Kamrau, Germany
9. Martin Strel, Slovenia
10. Yvetta Hlaváčová, Czech Republic
Others include Natalie du Toit, OIG, MBE, South Africa, Viola Valli, Italy, Christof Wandratsch, Germany, Stéphane Lecat, France, and Marcy MacDonald, USA.
Thomas Lurz was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2019. He won the bronze medal in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim at the 2008 Olympics, won the 2005 LEN Open Water Cup series, won the 10 km marathon swim at the 2004 FINA World Championships gold in the 5 km and silver in the 10 km at the 2005 FINA World Championship, gold in the 5 km and the 10 km at the 2006 FINA World Championships, gold in the 5 km at the 2008 FINA Open Water Swimming Championships, gold in the 10 km at the 2009 World Championships, a bronze in the 5 km at the 2002 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships.
Larisa Dmitriyevna Ilchenko (Russian: Лариса Дмитриевна Ильченко) was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame and the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2016. She won the 2008 Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in Beijing and eight FINA World Championships titles between 2005 and 2008 in the 5 km and 10 km distances.
Maarten van der Weijden is the only leukemia cancer survivor to win an Olympic gold medal and was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2011 and the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honor Swimmer in 2016. In 2004, he swam across the IJsselmeer, breaking the record at the Ijseelmeerzwemmarathon by almost 15 minutes to collect 50,000 euros which he donated for cancer research. He won 4 FINA World Cup competitions in the UAE and Argentina. He won the 25 km and a bronze medal at the 5 km race at the 2008 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships.
Yuri Kudinov (Russian Юрий Кудинов) was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2007, he missed the world record for the fastest swim across the English Channel in 7 hours 5 minutes, history's third fastest crossing. He won the 25 km at the 2000 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships in Hawaii, the 25 km at the 2001 FINA World Championships in Japan, the 25 km at the 2002 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships in Egypt, the 25 km at the 2007 FINA World Championships in Australia, and the 25 km at the 2003 FINA World Championships in Spain. He finished second in the 25 km at the 2004 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships, finished 9th in the 25 km at the 2005 FINA World Championships in Canada, finished second in the 25 km at the 2006 FINA World Championships, and finished third in the 25 km at the 2008 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships in Spain.
Edith van Dijk, PhD was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2006 and is a Knight in the Order of Orange Nassau, holding a Doctorate from Erasmus University in the Netherlands. She crossed the English Channel in 9 hours 8 minutes in 2004. She won the 10 km and 25 km in the 2000 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships. She won a bronze in the 5 km and a gold in the 10 km and 25 km at the 2005 FINA World Swimming Championships. She won the 2001 88 km Maratón Acuática Internacional Santa Fe - Coronda. She won a silver in the 5 km and 25 km at the 2002 World Open Water Swimming Championships. She won a bronze in the 10 km and a gold in the 25 km at the 2004 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships. She also won the 2000, 2001 and 2005 FINA World Cup series when she won swims in Argentina, Macedonia, Canada, England, Egypt. She was the oldest competitor who qualified for the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Lewis Pugh, OIG serves as the United Nations Patron of the Oceans and was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Ice Swimming Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2004, he completed a 5 km swim in Finland, pioneered a 12 km swim around Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, completed a 100 km stage swim around Cape Peninsula in 14 days, pioneered 204 km stage swim in Norway in 21 days. He completed a 1 km swim in Antarctica in 0°C water, a 1.6 km in the South Shetland islands in 2005 and the Five Oceans in 2006. He completed a 1.25 km swim in Nigards Glacier Lake, Norway in 0°C and pioneered a 450 km stage swim down the River Thames in 21 days in 2006 and pioneered a 140 km stage swim in Maldive Islands and a 1 km swim across the Geographic North Pole in in -1.6°C water.
Angela Maurer was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2009 and finished fourth in the 2008 Beijing Olympics marathon swim. She won the 25 km swim at the 2009 FINA World Championships and won 7 other FINA World Championships medals. She won the women's division at the Traversée Internationale du lac Memphrémagog.
Britta Kamrau was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2009, winning 25 FINA Marathon Swimming World Cup and FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix races. She won the 2007 FINA World Championships 25 km race, a silvers in the 2003 FINA World Championships 25 km race and 2005 FINA World Championships 25 km race as well as bronzes in the 2005 FINA World Championships 10 km and the 2003 FINA World Championships 5 km races. She was the FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup champion in 2003 and 2006.
Martin Strel was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2014. He completed stage swims along the length of the Danube River (505 km in 58 hours), the Mississippi River (3885 km in 68 days), the Yangtze River (4,003 km in 51 days), Paraná River (1,930 km), and the Amazon River (5268 km in 66 days).
Yvetta Hlaváčová was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame. She crossed the English Channel 3 times including in 2006 in 7 hours 25 minutes (women's record). She swam down the Vlata River in 2007 for 138 km in 7 days and upstream in 2008 for 142 km in water down to 8.3°C at times. She won the 2002 FINA World Cup in Egypt and raced in marathon swims in 20 countries, winning the 25 km team bronze in the 2004 FINA World Championships.
Ned Denison, chairperson of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, cautioned, "Most of these swimmers are honorees of the IMSHOF. Once inducted, the IMSHOF does not further 'rank' its inductees."
By Steven Munatones.
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and Editor of the KAATSU Magazine. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), Dale Petranech Award for Services to the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (2022), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007 and 2010), and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984, awarded to the senior whose interests are not bounded by academic or institutional structures. A joyous, deeply-rooted affirmation of life, disdain for the purely conventional; a love of adventure, and desire to learn by experiencing; the ability to respond creatively to difficult situations). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee (until 2011) and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, a 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff including 4 FINA World Championships, and 2008 NBC Olympic 10K Marathon Swim commentator.
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