Courtesy of WOWSA,Huntington
Beach, California.
The nominees for the World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Yearare always an heroic and impressive group of individuals with exceptional exploits, histories and lifestyles.
The WOWSA Awards are not necessarily for the best athletes, but are meant to honor the women who:
* best embody the spirit of open water swimming,
* possess the sense of adventure, tenacity and perseverance that open water swimmers are known for, and
* have most positively influenced the world of open water swimming in calendar year 2014.
To vote for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year, visit the WOWSA Awards here.
The inspirational group of 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year nominees include:
1. Alex Cape (Canada) Freshwater Adventurer
2. Aurélie Muller (France) Olympian and World Champion
3. Bridgette Hobart Janeczko (U.S.A.) Prolific Marathon Swimmer
4. Chloë McCardel (Australia) Channel Swimmer & Coach
5. Elina Makïnen (Finland) Ice Swimmer
6. Elizabeth Fry (U.S.A.) Double Downing
7. Lorna Cochran (South Africa) Nonagenarian Swimmer
8. Pilar Geijo (Argentina) FINA Grand Prix Champion
9. Rachele Bruni (Italy) Olympian & FINA World Cup Champion
10. Renata Novakova (Czech Republic) Ice Swimming World Champion
11. Sharon van Rouwendaal (Netherlands) Olympic Cross-over Speedster
12. Tita Llorens (Spain), Marathon Swimmer
1. Alex Cape (Canada) Freshwater Adventurer
Alex Cape had a huge goal: to swim for the longest known distance in a freshwater setting. Her chosen venue was Canada's Cowichan Lake. Swimming alongside Susan Simmons for the third straight year, Cape kept going when Simmons was unexpectedly overcome with nausea at 44 km. She swam past 50 km, past 60 km, past 70 km, past 80 km, past 90 km. Cape continued to forge on nearing the marks set by Vicki Keith (104 km in Lake Ontario in 1987) and Ted Erikson and Abdul-Latif Abou-Heif (96 km in Lake Michigan in 1963). She voluntarily walked up onshore after 50 hours 36 minutes at 94.2 km (58.4 miles). For her gradual upping her distance over a 3-year period, for being a supportive friend of her swim buddy with multiple sclerosis, and for swimming the third longest lake swim in history, Alex Cape is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
2. Aurélie Muller (France) Olympian and World Champion
Aurélie Muller is making the most of her second chance. The 2008 Olympian did not make the 2012 Olympics, but she came roaring back as the 2015 world champion in the 10 km marathon swim. Her victory at the FINA World Swimming Championships made her the first female swimmer to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. With her tattoo "chase your dreams" on her foot, the 25-year-old realized one step of her dream by dramatically separately herself from a lead pack full of Olympic medalists and world champions by over 20 seconds. For her dominating victory that demonstrated her new-found confidence and tremendous stamina and speed, for never letting up on her Olympic dreams despite disappointment, for her genuinely cheerful and radiantly positive mindset before and after her first world championship title, Aurélie Muller is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
3. Bridgette Hobart Janeczko (U.S.A.) Prolific Marathon Swimmer
Bridgette Hobart Janeczko planned and successfully completed 9 swims across the New York Finger Lakes, a 156-mile charity swim for Nazareth College. The company owner and race director from Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey has her hands full, but she had plenty of energy to promote Nazareth College's Wellness and Rehabilitation Institute with her The 5 Majors & The 4 Minors Swimming for a Cause. She completed crossings of Canandaigua (15.5 miles in 7 hours 38 minutes), Keuka (19.88 miles in 9 hours 7 minutes),Skaneateles (16.03 miles in 7 hours 27 minutes), Cayuga (37.9 miles in 20 hours 33 minutes), Seneca (37.9 miles in 24 hours 31 minutes), Honeoye (4.5 miles in 2 hours 2 minutes), Conesus (8.08 miles in 3 hours 47 minutes), Otisco (6.21 miles in 2 hours 2 minutes), and Owasco (11.1 miles in 5 hours 57 minutes). For her ability to juggle so many things at once, for her serving as a catalyst to bring together the communities of the New York Finger Lakes, and for unprecedented Finger Lakes charity swim series, Bridgette Hobart Janeczko is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
4. Chloë McCardel (Australia) Channel Swimmer & Coach
Chloë McCardel had a summer like no other in English Channel swimming history. Not only did she become only the fourth person in history to complete a three-way crossing in 36 hours 12 minutes, but she also coached a number of charity relays and did a long training swims in Loch Ness. She has now completed a total of 12 English Channel crossings at the young age of 30. With her husband Paul McQueeney aboard and the Brickell brothers piloting her escort boat, McCardel completed 3 solo crossings within 6 days (8 hours 52 minutes on Monday, 9 hours 56 minutes on Thursday, and 9 hours 48 minutes on Sunday. For her 115 km (63-mile) triple crossing of the English Channel where she faced hypothermia and intense pain on a 11:34 first leg, 11:08 second leg, and 13:30 leg, for her motivational coaching of English Channel relays and marathon swimmers, and for her inspirational swims that motivate swimmers of all ages and abilities, Chloë McCardel is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
5. Elina Makïnen (Finland) Ice Swimmer
Elina Makïnen was non-stop wherever and whenever she competed in ice swimming competitions. At the Pirita Open in Estonia, in solo races at the Finish Championships, Winter Swimming Championships, or on relays at the World Ice Swimming Championshipsin Russia, she was both a friendly spirit and a competitive athlete. She completed the 450m endurance swim in a quick 6 minutes 33 seconds and covered 1,100m in 18 minutes. She led off the winning Viimsi Veeklubi relay team with Henri Kaarma, Bruno Nopponenand Andres Olvik and participated in the Fast and Frozen, two-way North Channel relay. For her winter charisma, for her mental strength and ice swimming knowledge, for her silver medal performance in the 1000m race (15:12) and her gold medal in the 450m endurance swim at the World Ice Swimming Championships in Russia, Elina Makïnen is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
6. Elizabeth Fry (U.S.A.) Double Down
Elizabeth Fry is a race director of the 25 km St. Vincent's Foundation Swim Across the Sound who blew the minds of many of the world's elite marathon swimmers. The veteran 57-year-old channel swimmer set another almost unfathomable bar in the open water community to improbable heights. Fry took one of the world's longest open water swimming competitions, the S.C.A.R. Swim Challenge, a 4-day stage swim in Arizona, and obliterated all sense of time and distance. Instead of doing the already-tough 41.7 miles (66.9 km) in the race, Fry simply double downed 83.4 miles (123.8 km): on Day 1, she swam back and forth 19 miles (30.4 km) in Saguaro Lake in 7 hours 32 minutes, on Day 2, she swam 18 miles (28.8 km) two ways in Canyon Lake in 7 hours 27 minutes, on Day 3, she double-crossed 34 miles (54.6 km) Apache Lake in 15 hours 47 minutes, and on Day 4, she double-crossed 12.4 miles (20 km) Roosevelt Lake 6 hours 18 minutes. For her two-timing 36 hour 55 minute S.C.A.R., for challenging herself for 4 consecutive days of double-crossings, and for continuing to support and provide leadership in one of the world's most successful charity swims in Connecticut, Elizabeth Fry is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
7. Lorna Cochran (South Africa) Nonagenarian Swimmer
Lorna Cochran keeps entertaining and inspiring entire generations of open water swimmers. She extended her unprecedented record as the oldest finisher of the annual aQuellé Midmar Mile in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa with her 17th crossing of the Midmar Dam at the age of 92. While she confirmed her retirement from competitive open water swimming, she did her swan swim surrounded by 11 members of the remarkable Cochran clan that span four generations in the 1-mile race. For continuing to train and making her way across Midmar Dam for her last time and then emerging from the water to the delight, respect and applause from the large crowd, for pioneering competitive open water swimming for nonagenarian swimmers, and for going out with gracious style and humble grace in front of her 7 children, many of her 25 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren, Lorna Cochran is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
8. Pilar Geijo (Argentina) FINA Grand Prix Champion
Pilar Geijo won the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix title in a tight season-long battle over Alice Franco of Italy. Pilar has now won the professional marathon swimming title 4 times out of the last 5 years: 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2015. The 31-year-old swimmer trains under her husband Diego Tricárico at Club River Plate where she competed 25 km Maratón Internacional Aguas Abiertas Villa Urquiza - Paraná (2nd in Argentina), the 15 km Maratón Cancún (5th in Mexico), the 32 km Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean (1st in Canada), the 33 km Ohridski Plivački Maraton (4th in Macedonia), and the 36 km Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli (2nd in Italy). For successful and close husband-and-wife teamwork, for consistently proving her strength and stamina over many closely competitive marathon swims, and for her positive spirit in promoting the sport of open water swimming, Pilar Geijo is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
9. Rachele Bruni (Italy) Olympian & FINA World Cup Champion
Rachele Bruni had the year of her life. The 26-year-old not only won the competitive 10-race FINA/HOSA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup professional circuit, but she also qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games with a fourth place finish at the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia. She battled within tight packs in every race on the national and international scene, expertly positioning and pacing, surging and printing as necessary to emerge as one of next year's podium favorites for the Olympic 10 km marathon swim at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. For her competitive spirit, for her intensity of training, and for her tough international schedule, Rachele Bruni is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
10. Renata Novakova (Czech Republic) Ice Swimming World Champion
Renata Novakova emerged as an unexpected superstar at the inaugural World Ice Swimming Championships in Murmansk, Russia. She set a world record in the 1000m ice swim in 14:21.68 in 0.8°C water and -7°C air, quite close to the veteran men on the male podium. Because the ice requires years of acclimatization and plenty of experience to achieve one's full potential, the 18-year-old is bound to rewrite the record books throughout her career. In her first outing, the teenager swam quite competitively against the established giants of the sport. For her victories on the Czech Cup circuit where she participated in 18 events ranging up to 1000m in water below 8°C, 4°C, or 2°C every Saturday from October until April, for training with her sister in Pardubice, and for showing that endurance ice swimming has both a bright future and huge potential, Renata Novakova is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
11. Sharon van Rouwendaal (Netherlands) Olympic Cross-over Speedster
Sharon van Rouwendaal seeks and finds the award podium no matter what the venue. She became only the second woman in FINA history to medal in both swimming (400m freestyle bronze) and open water swimming (10 km marathon swim silver medal) while winning events from the world record setting 800m short course freestyle relay to the 15 km FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix race in Cozumel, Mexico. The humble 23-year-old qualified for the 2016 Olympic 10K Marathon Swim by finishing second in the 10 km marathon swim at the 2015 FINA World Championships in Russia. She finished second in the 5 km team pursuit at the FINA World Championships, won $17,000 at the 10 km Swim the Swan in Perth, Australia over an elite field and placed fourth in the 5 km race at the 2015 FINA World Championships. For her extraordinarily busy schedule at the FINA World Swimming Championships, for her willingness to race everything from 200m to 10 km, for her love of hard training under coach Philippe Lucas, Sharon van Rouwendaal is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
12. Tita Llorens (Spain), Marathon Swimmer
Margarita 'Tita' Llorens Bagur tried and tried to make a successful crossing of the Mallorca Channel between Ibiza to Mallorca, island in the Balearic Islands archipelago. She finally completed an unprecedented solo swim of 84.3 km (52.3 miles) that challenged the 46-year-old a total of 28 hours 13 minutes until she crawled upon Mola de Mallorca. For her persistence in attempting the Mallorca Channel over 2 years, for her comeback after a 74 km, 21-hour swim where she was pulled, and for her humble nature in concert her kayaker escort husband, Francisco Siscu Pons, Tita Llorens is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
To vote for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year, visit the WOWSA Awards here.
The previous winners of the World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year Award include the following athletes:
* 2008 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year: Edith van Dijk of the Netherlands
* 2009 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year: Poliana Okimoto of Brazil
* 2010 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year: Anne Marie Ward of Ireland
* 2011 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year: Pilar Geijo of Argentina
* 2012 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year: Annaleise Carr of Canada
* 2013 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year: Olga Kozydub of Russia
* 2014 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year: Nataliya Fatyanova, M.D. of Russia
Copyright © 2015 by World Open Water Swimming Association
The nominees for the World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Yearare always an heroic and impressive group of individuals with exceptional exploits, histories and lifestyles.
The WOWSA Awards are not necessarily for the best athletes, but are meant to honor the women who:
* best embody the spirit of open water swimming,
* possess the sense of adventure, tenacity and perseverance that open water swimmers are known for, and
* have most positively influenced the world of open water swimming in calendar year 2014.
To vote for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year, visit the WOWSA Awards here.
The inspirational group of 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year nominees include:
1. Alex Cape (Canada) Freshwater Adventurer
2. Aurélie Muller (France) Olympian and World Champion
3. Bridgette Hobart Janeczko (U.S.A.) Prolific Marathon Swimmer
4. Chloë McCardel (Australia) Channel Swimmer & Coach
5. Elina Makïnen (Finland) Ice Swimmer
6. Elizabeth Fry (U.S.A.) Double Downing
7. Lorna Cochran (South Africa) Nonagenarian Swimmer
8. Pilar Geijo (Argentina) FINA Grand Prix Champion
9. Rachele Bruni (Italy) Olympian & FINA World Cup Champion
10. Renata Novakova (Czech Republic) Ice Swimming World Champion
11. Sharon van Rouwendaal (Netherlands) Olympic Cross-over Speedster
12. Tita Llorens (Spain), Marathon Swimmer
1. Alex Cape (Canada) Freshwater Adventurer
Alex Cape had a huge goal: to swim for the longest known distance in a freshwater setting. Her chosen venue was Canada's Cowichan Lake. Swimming alongside Susan Simmons for the third straight year, Cape kept going when Simmons was unexpectedly overcome with nausea at 44 km. She swam past 50 km, past 60 km, past 70 km, past 80 km, past 90 km. Cape continued to forge on nearing the marks set by Vicki Keith (104 km in Lake Ontario in 1987) and Ted Erikson and Abdul-Latif Abou-Heif (96 km in Lake Michigan in 1963). She voluntarily walked up onshore after 50 hours 36 minutes at 94.2 km (58.4 miles). For her gradual upping her distance over a 3-year period, for being a supportive friend of her swim buddy with multiple sclerosis, and for swimming the third longest lake swim in history, Alex Cape is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
2. Aurélie Muller (France) Olympian and World Champion
Aurélie Muller is making the most of her second chance. The 2008 Olympian did not make the 2012 Olympics, but she came roaring back as the 2015 world champion in the 10 km marathon swim. Her victory at the FINA World Swimming Championships made her the first female swimmer to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. With her tattoo "chase your dreams" on her foot, the 25-year-old realized one step of her dream by dramatically separately herself from a lead pack full of Olympic medalists and world champions by over 20 seconds. For her dominating victory that demonstrated her new-found confidence and tremendous stamina and speed, for never letting up on her Olympic dreams despite disappointment, for her genuinely cheerful and radiantly positive mindset before and after her first world championship title, Aurélie Muller is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
3. Bridgette Hobart Janeczko (U.S.A.) Prolific Marathon Swimmer
Bridgette Hobart Janeczko planned and successfully completed 9 swims across the New York Finger Lakes, a 156-mile charity swim for Nazareth College. The company owner and race director from Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey has her hands full, but she had plenty of energy to promote Nazareth College's Wellness and Rehabilitation Institute with her The 5 Majors & The 4 Minors Swimming for a Cause. She completed crossings of Canandaigua (15.5 miles in 7 hours 38 minutes), Keuka (19.88 miles in 9 hours 7 minutes),Skaneateles (16.03 miles in 7 hours 27 minutes), Cayuga (37.9 miles in 20 hours 33 minutes), Seneca (37.9 miles in 24 hours 31 minutes), Honeoye (4.5 miles in 2 hours 2 minutes), Conesus (8.08 miles in 3 hours 47 minutes), Otisco (6.21 miles in 2 hours 2 minutes), and Owasco (11.1 miles in 5 hours 57 minutes). For her ability to juggle so many things at once, for her serving as a catalyst to bring together the communities of the New York Finger Lakes, and for unprecedented Finger Lakes charity swim series, Bridgette Hobart Janeczko is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
4. Chloë McCardel (Australia) Channel Swimmer & Coach
Chloë McCardel had a summer like no other in English Channel swimming history. Not only did she become only the fourth person in history to complete a three-way crossing in 36 hours 12 minutes, but she also coached a number of charity relays and did a long training swims in Loch Ness. She has now completed a total of 12 English Channel crossings at the young age of 30. With her husband Paul McQueeney aboard and the Brickell brothers piloting her escort boat, McCardel completed 3 solo crossings within 6 days (8 hours 52 minutes on Monday, 9 hours 56 minutes on Thursday, and 9 hours 48 minutes on Sunday. For her 115 km (63-mile) triple crossing of the English Channel where she faced hypothermia and intense pain on a 11:34 first leg, 11:08 second leg, and 13:30 leg, for her motivational coaching of English Channel relays and marathon swimmers, and for her inspirational swims that motivate swimmers of all ages and abilities, Chloë McCardel is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
5. Elina Makïnen (Finland) Ice Swimmer
Elina Makïnen was non-stop wherever and whenever she competed in ice swimming competitions. At the Pirita Open in Estonia, in solo races at the Finish Championships, Winter Swimming Championships, or on relays at the World Ice Swimming Championshipsin Russia, she was both a friendly spirit and a competitive athlete. She completed the 450m endurance swim in a quick 6 minutes 33 seconds and covered 1,100m in 18 minutes. She led off the winning Viimsi Veeklubi relay team with Henri Kaarma, Bruno Nopponenand Andres Olvik and participated in the Fast and Frozen, two-way North Channel relay. For her winter charisma, for her mental strength and ice swimming knowledge, for her silver medal performance in the 1000m race (15:12) and her gold medal in the 450m endurance swim at the World Ice Swimming Championships in Russia, Elina Makïnen is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
6. Elizabeth Fry (U.S.A.) Double Down
Elizabeth Fry is a race director of the 25 km St. Vincent's Foundation Swim Across the Sound who blew the minds of many of the world's elite marathon swimmers. The veteran 57-year-old channel swimmer set another almost unfathomable bar in the open water community to improbable heights. Fry took one of the world's longest open water swimming competitions, the S.C.A.R. Swim Challenge, a 4-day stage swim in Arizona, and obliterated all sense of time and distance. Instead of doing the already-tough 41.7 miles (66.9 km) in the race, Fry simply double downed 83.4 miles (123.8 km): on Day 1, she swam back and forth 19 miles (30.4 km) in Saguaro Lake in 7 hours 32 minutes, on Day 2, she swam 18 miles (28.8 km) two ways in Canyon Lake in 7 hours 27 minutes, on Day 3, she double-crossed 34 miles (54.6 km) Apache Lake in 15 hours 47 minutes, and on Day 4, she double-crossed 12.4 miles (20 km) Roosevelt Lake 6 hours 18 minutes. For her two-timing 36 hour 55 minute S.C.A.R., for challenging herself for 4 consecutive days of double-crossings, and for continuing to support and provide leadership in one of the world's most successful charity swims in Connecticut, Elizabeth Fry is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
7. Lorna Cochran (South Africa) Nonagenarian Swimmer
Lorna Cochran keeps entertaining and inspiring entire generations of open water swimmers. She extended her unprecedented record as the oldest finisher of the annual aQuellé Midmar Mile in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa with her 17th crossing of the Midmar Dam at the age of 92. While she confirmed her retirement from competitive open water swimming, she did her swan swim surrounded by 11 members of the remarkable Cochran clan that span four generations in the 1-mile race. For continuing to train and making her way across Midmar Dam for her last time and then emerging from the water to the delight, respect and applause from the large crowd, for pioneering competitive open water swimming for nonagenarian swimmers, and for going out with gracious style and humble grace in front of her 7 children, many of her 25 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren, Lorna Cochran is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
8. Pilar Geijo (Argentina) FINA Grand Prix Champion
Pilar Geijo won the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix title in a tight season-long battle over Alice Franco of Italy. Pilar has now won the professional marathon swimming title 4 times out of the last 5 years: 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2015. The 31-year-old swimmer trains under her husband Diego Tricárico at Club River Plate where she competed 25 km Maratón Internacional Aguas Abiertas Villa Urquiza - Paraná (2nd in Argentina), the 15 km Maratón Cancún (5th in Mexico), the 32 km Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean (1st in Canada), the 33 km Ohridski Plivački Maraton (4th in Macedonia), and the 36 km Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli (2nd in Italy). For successful and close husband-and-wife teamwork, for consistently proving her strength and stamina over many closely competitive marathon swims, and for her positive spirit in promoting the sport of open water swimming, Pilar Geijo is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
9. Rachele Bruni (Italy) Olympian & FINA World Cup Champion
Rachele Bruni had the year of her life. The 26-year-old not only won the competitive 10-race FINA/HOSA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup professional circuit, but she also qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games with a fourth place finish at the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia. She battled within tight packs in every race on the national and international scene, expertly positioning and pacing, surging and printing as necessary to emerge as one of next year's podium favorites for the Olympic 10 km marathon swim at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. For her competitive spirit, for her intensity of training, and for her tough international schedule, Rachele Bruni is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
10. Renata Novakova (Czech Republic) Ice Swimming World Champion
Renata Novakova emerged as an unexpected superstar at the inaugural World Ice Swimming Championships in Murmansk, Russia. She set a world record in the 1000m ice swim in 14:21.68 in 0.8°C water and -7°C air, quite close to the veteran men on the male podium. Because the ice requires years of acclimatization and plenty of experience to achieve one's full potential, the 18-year-old is bound to rewrite the record books throughout her career. In her first outing, the teenager swam quite competitively against the established giants of the sport. For her victories on the Czech Cup circuit where she participated in 18 events ranging up to 1000m in water below 8°C, 4°C, or 2°C every Saturday from October until April, for training with her sister in Pardubice, and for showing that endurance ice swimming has both a bright future and huge potential, Renata Novakova is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
11. Sharon van Rouwendaal (Netherlands) Olympic Cross-over Speedster
Sharon van Rouwendaal seeks and finds the award podium no matter what the venue. She became only the second woman in FINA history to medal in both swimming (400m freestyle bronze) and open water swimming (10 km marathon swim silver medal) while winning events from the world record setting 800m short course freestyle relay to the 15 km FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix race in Cozumel, Mexico. The humble 23-year-old qualified for the 2016 Olympic 10K Marathon Swim by finishing second in the 10 km marathon swim at the 2015 FINA World Championships in Russia. She finished second in the 5 km team pursuit at the FINA World Championships, won $17,000 at the 10 km Swim the Swan in Perth, Australia over an elite field and placed fourth in the 5 km race at the 2015 FINA World Championships. For her extraordinarily busy schedule at the FINA World Swimming Championships, for her willingness to race everything from 200m to 10 km, for her love of hard training under coach Philippe Lucas, Sharon van Rouwendaal is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
12. Tita Llorens (Spain), Marathon Swimmer
Margarita 'Tita' Llorens Bagur tried and tried to make a successful crossing of the Mallorca Channel between Ibiza to Mallorca, island in the Balearic Islands archipelago. She finally completed an unprecedented solo swim of 84.3 km (52.3 miles) that challenged the 46-year-old a total of 28 hours 13 minutes until she crawled upon Mola de Mallorca. For her persistence in attempting the Mallorca Channel over 2 years, for her comeback after a 74 km, 21-hour swim where she was pulled, and for her humble nature in concert her kayaker escort husband, Francisco Siscu Pons, Tita Llorens is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
To vote for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year, visit the WOWSA Awards here.
The previous winners of the World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year Award include the following athletes:
* 2008 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year: Edith van Dijk of the Netherlands
* 2009 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year: Poliana Okimoto of Brazil
* 2010 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year: Anne Marie Ward of Ireland
* 2011 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year: Pilar Geijo of Argentina
* 2012 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year: Annaleise Carr of Canada
* 2013 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year: Olga Kozydub of Russia
* 2014 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year: Nataliya Fatyanova, M.D. of Russia
Copyright © 2015 by World Open Water Swimming Association
From World Open Water Swimming Association's Daily
News of Open Water Swimming
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