CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <title>Olympedia – Marathon Swimming</title> <meta name="csrf-param" content="authenticity_token" /> <meta name="csrf-token" content="6Cw87XXZp4wefXeoNWaoJhgaearMDAbEP4295Br7KR+azVZtwjQngHYN8MV6AX2Mpqv6nG6N+Olezv2rQ3Txhg==" /> <meta content='text/html; charset=UTF-8' http-equiv='Content-Type'> <meta content='EN' http-equiv='content-language'> <meta content='width=device-width, initial-scale=1' name='viewport'> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/assets/bootstrap.min-460a43de22fd9534d595e5aea2715cb154560291c9c6401b526e31c86a5ce32d.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/assets/bootstrap-sortable-363d232309d54b549fa85446295ef2b5d290e3f8a49f1a646247340be3705ef9.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/assets/jquery-ui-1.11.4.min-c2c16849482519011be3d591a077786323ba15af8b2b5586ecf274e7a51c4c79.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="screen" href="/assets/lightbox-e29689e123fc27505d2b9d919f43ffcb6fade539cb4670f21c35aa07848105e7.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/assets/application-dbfe40fdf3d3bf356780be1d38babf28ad6a8de3de13b1725c5fc0fcd993023c.css" data-turbolinks-track="true" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="screen" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.4.3/css/ol.css" /> <script src="/assets/application-0e6479ad2edc007b3e23e2afbf7ffa0e887c3e106b7718fb0d5fca0276f23c46.js" data-turbolinks-track="true"></script> <script src="/assets/jquery-1.11.2.min-cc83565074b3fa7f2283f7f4d56b90ad171ede87008448ed5d2e91c50575bed1.js"></script> <script src="/assets/jquery-ui-1.11.4.min-1f37fd37d8db0404488ac8f6505560e48d1364ef1c81e384ac695e143049ab0f.js"></script> <script src="/assets/bootstrap.min-81d6fe3a991358b79b083d075ca476712c9f11c5c890047486176bde863c499e.js"></script> <script src="/assets/moment-ded3cbd5de5ae075c44be4149abb630c658e8789f17ccfb162e6bb7664e8bec9.js"></script> <script src="/assets/bootstrap-sortable-cd614fbc8d2030bc050ce63652169ed36d970209a94062fa218c631f2c04dc9f.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.4.3/build/ol.js"></script> </head> <body> <div class='navbar navbar-default navbar-fixed-top' role='navigation'> <div class='navbar-header'> <div class='button navbar-toggle' data-target='.navbar-ex1-collapse' data-toggle='collapse' type='button'> <span class='sr-only'>Toggle navigation</span> <span class='icon-bar'> <span class='icon-bar'> <span class='icon-bar'></span> </span> </span> </div> <a class='navbar-brand' href='/'>Olympedia</a> </div> <div class='collapse navbar-collapse navbar-ex1-collapse'> <ul class='nav navbar-nav'> <li class='dropdown'> <a class='dropdown-toggle' data-toggle='dropdown' href='#'> Athletes <b class='caret'></b> </a> <ul class='dropdown-menu'> <li><a href="/athletes/advanced_search">Advanced search</a></li> <li><a href="/horses">Horse search</a></li> <li><a href="/family_relations">Related Olympians</a></li> <li><a href="/counts">Counts</a></li> <li><a href="/athletes/doubles">Doubles</a></li> <li><a href="/athletes/lists">Lists</a></li> <li class='divider'></li> <li><a href="/athletes">Athletes</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class='dropdown'> <a class='dropdown-toggle' data-toggle='dropdown' href='#'> Countries <b class='caret'></b> </a> <ul class='dropdown-menu'> <li><a href="/countries/head_to_head">Head-to-head</a></li> <li><a href="/countries/best_results">Best results</a></li> <li><a href="/countries/comparison">Results comparison</a></li> <li class='divider'></li> <li><a href="/countries">Countries</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class='dropdown'> <a class='dropdown-toggle' data-toggle='dropdown' href='#'> Games <b class='caret'></b> </a> <ul class='dropdown-menu'> <li><a href="/editions">Games</a></li> <li><a href="/editions/medals">Medals</a></li> <li><a href="/editions/results">Results</a></li> <li><a href="/ceremonies">Opening ceremony</a></li> <li><a href="/venues/menu">Venues</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class='dropdown'> <a class='dropdown-toggle' data-toggle='dropdown' href='#'> Sports <b class='caret'></b> </a> <ul class='dropdown-menu'> <li><a href="/sports">Disciplines & Sports</a></li> <li><a href="/event_names">Events</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class='dropdown'> <a class='dropdown-toggle' data-toggle='dropdown' href='#'> IOC <b class='caret'></b> </a> <ul class='dropdown-menu'> <li><a href="/organizations">Organizations</a></li> <li><a href="/definitions">Definitions</a></li> <li><a href="/meetings">Meetings</a></li> <li><a href="/ioc/host_cities">Host city selection</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class='dropdown'> <a class='dropdown-toggle' data-toggle='dropdown' href='#'> Statistics <b class='caret'></b> </a> <ul class='dropdown-menu'> <li></li> <li><a href="/statistics/medal/country">Medals by country</a></li> <li><a href="/statistics/medal/athlete">Medals by athlete</a></li> <li><a href="/statistics/medal_table">Medal tables</a></li> <li><a href="/statistics/participation">Participations</a></li> <li><a href="/records">Olympic Records</a></li> <li><a href="/statistics/age">Age records</a></li> <li><a href="/lists">Lists</a></li> <li><a href="/today">Today</a></li> <li></li> <li class='divider'></li> <li><a href="/statistics">Statistics</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="/feedbacks/new">Feedback</a></li> <form class="navbar-form navbar-left" role="search" action="/athletes/quick_search" accept-charset="UTF-8" method="post"><input name="utf8" type="hidden" value="✓" /><input type="hidden" name="authenticity_token" value="EzjlN4HOq/nzVsG+SSk56vT4HsreUDP4488qnrxuPb5tUAVkIMyEzxIvPJP54n0HDRoXr8o9HeSGw8EiKNShSQ==" /><div class='form-group'> <input type="text" name="query" id="query" class="form-control" placeholder="Athlete search" /> </div> <input type="submit" name="commit" value="Go" class="btn btn-default" data-disable-with="Go" /> </form> </ul> </div> </div> <div class='container'> <ol class='breadcrumb'> <li> <a href='/'>Home</a> </li> <li><a href="/sports">Disciplines & Sports</a></li><li class="active">Marathon Swimming</li> </ol> <h1>Marathon Swimming</h1> <h2>Facts</h2> <table class='biodata'> <tr> <th>Discipline of</th> <td><a href="/sport_groups/AQ">Aquatics</a></td> </tr> <tr> <th>Participants</th> <td><a href="/counts/sport/OWS">146</a></td> </tr> <tr> <th>NOCs</th> <td>45</td> </tr> <tr> <th>Competitions held</th> <td> 8 (<a href="/venues/sports/OWS">Venues</a>) </td> </tr> <tr> <th>Distinct events</th> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <th>IF</th> <td><a href="/organizations/55">World Aquatics</a></td> </tr> </table> <h2> Description </h2> <div class='description'> <p>Marathon swimming is also referred to as open-water swimming, as it is held in an open body of water, as opposed to a pool. The discipline made its Olympic début at the <a href="/editions/53">2008 Beijing Olympics</a>, with a single 10 km open water race for men and women. Marathon swimming has been contested at the World Aquatics Championships since 1991, where men and women race over 5 km, 10 km, and 25 km. Open-water swimming has been around much longer than that, however, as many races in the 19th and early 20th century were held in open water, including the swimming events at the <a href="/editions/1/sports/SWM">1896</a>, <a href="/editions/2/sports/SWM">1900</a>, and <a href="/editions/3/sports/SWM">1904 Olympic Games</a>.</p> <p>The <a href="/countries/NED">Netherlands</a> tops the discipline’s medal table, with four medals and three golds, led by swimmer <a href="/athletes/125722">Sharon van Rouwendaal</a>, with a gold and a silver medal. <a href="/athletes/104147">Thomas Lurz</a> is the only male swimmer with two medals, a silver and a bronze.</p> <p>Marathon swimming is not considered a separate sport but rather a discipline of <a href="/sports/SWM">swimming</a>, or technically aquatics, and as such is governed by the <a href="/organizations/55">Fédération internationale de natation (FINA)</a>. FINA was formed on 19 July 1908 in London and has 209 affiliated nations as of 2022.</p> </div> <h2>All-time medal table</h2> <h3>Olympic Games</h3> <table class='table table-striped'> <thead> <tr> <th colspan='2'>NOC</th> <th>Gold</th> <th>Silver</th> <th>Bronze</th> <th>Total</th> </tr> </thead> <tr> <td><a href="/countries/NED">Netherlands</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/NED"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/NED.png" /> NED</a></td> <td>3</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>4</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/countries/GER">Germany</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/GER"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/GER.png" /> GER</a></td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>3</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/countries/HUN">Hungary</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/HUN"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/HUN.png" /> HUN</a></td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/countries/BRA">Brazil</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/BRA"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/BRA.png" /> BRA</a></td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/countries/RUS">Russian Federation</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/RUS"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/RUS.png" /> RUS</a></td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/countries/TUN">Tunisia</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/TUN"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/TUN.png" /> TUN</a></td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/countries/GBR">Great Britain</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/GBR"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/GBR.png" /> GBR</a></td> <td>0</td> <td>2</td> <td>1</td> <td>3</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/countries/ITA">Italy</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/ITA"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/ITA.png" /> ITA</a></td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>2</td> <td>3</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/countries/GRE">Greece</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/GRE"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/GRE.png" /> GRE</a></td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/countries/USA">United States</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/USA"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/USA.png" /> USA</a></td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/countries/AUS">Australia</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/AUS"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/AUS.png" /> AUS</a></td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/countries/CAN">Canada</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/CAN"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/CAN.png" /> CAN</a></td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/countries/FRA">France</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/FRA"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/FRA.png" /> FRA</a></td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> </tr> </table> <h2>Most successful competitors</h2> <h3>Olympic Games</h3> <table class='table table-striped'> <thead> <tr> <th>Athlete</th> <th>Nat</th> <th>Gold</th> <th>Silver</th> <th>Bronze</th> <th>Total</th> </tr> </thead> <tr class='top'> <td><a href="/athletes/125722">Sharon van Rouwendaal</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/NED"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/NED.png" /> NED</a></td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr class='top'> <td><a href="/athletes/93520">Éva Risztov</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/HUN"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/HUN.png" /> HUN</a></td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr class='top'> <td><a href="/athletes/93816">Oussama Mellouli</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/TUN"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/TUN.png" /> TUN</a></td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr class='top'> <td><a href="/athletes/115922">Maarten van der Weijden</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/NED"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/NED.png" /> NED</a></td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr class='top'> <td><a href="/athletes/116001">Lara Ilchenko</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/RUS"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/RUS.png" /> RUS</a></td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr class='top'> <td><a href="/athletes/116003">Ana Marcela Cunha</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/BRA"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/BRA.png" /> BRA</a></td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr class='top'> <td><a href="/athletes/134244">Florian Wellbrock</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/GER"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/GER.png" /> GER</a></td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr class='top'> <td><a href="/athletes/135285">Ferry Weertman</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/NED"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/NED.png" /> NED</a></td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr class='top'> <td><a href="/athletes/104147">Thomas Lurz</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/GER"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/GER.png" /> GER</a></td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr class='top'> <td><a href="/athletes/93497">Spyros Gianniotis</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/GRE"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/GRE.png" /> GRE</a></td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr class='top'> <td><a href="/athletes/104146">Dave Davies</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/GBR"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/GBR.png" /> GBR</a></td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr class='top'> <td><a href="/athletes/112295">Keri-Anne Payne</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/GBR"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/GBR.png" /> GBR</a></td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr class='top'> <td><a href="/athletes/126698">Haley Anderson</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/USA"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/USA.png" /> USA</a></td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr class='top'> <td><a href="/athletes/130687">Rachele Bruni</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/ITA"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/ITA.png" /> ITA</a></td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr class='top'> <td><a href="/athletes/134387">Kristóf Rasovszky</a></td> <td><a href="/countries/HUN"><img style="padding-right: 2px; vertical-align: middle" src="https://olympedia-flags.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/HUN.png" /> HUN</a></td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> </table> <h2>Event types</h2> <table class='table table-striped sortable'> <thead> <th>Name</th> <th>Gender</th> <th>Still contested?</th> <th>Times held?</th> </thead> <tbody> <tr valign='top'> <td><a href="/event_names/703">10 kilometres Open Water</a></td> <td>Men</td> <td><span class="glyphicon glyphicon-ok"></span></td> <td>4</td> </tr> <tr valign='top'> <td><a href="/event_names/704">10 kilometres Open Water</a></td> <td>Women</td> <td><span class="glyphicon glyphicon-ok"></span></td> <td>4</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </body> <footer class='footer'> <br> <div class='panel panel-info'> <div class='panel-heading'> <h3 class='panel-title'> <span class='glyphicon glyphicon-info-sign'></span> Did you know? </h3> </div> <div class='panel-body'> <p>Through 1956, all Olympic field hockey gold medals were won by either Great Britain or India. They had never played each other until the 1948 Olympics, when India beat the hosts 4-0.</p> </div> </div> <div class='container'> <p> <a href="/users/sign_in">Login</a> | <a href="/statistics/olympedia">Statistics</a> | <a href="/static/about">About</a> | <a href="/static/faq">FAQ</a> | <a href="/feedbacks/new">Feedback</a> </p> <p> © <a href="/static/about">OlyMADMen</a> 2006 — 2023 </p> </div> </footer> <script src="/assets/lightbox.min-3184f132ebf6d1b84bc827e0d39a461df9d8a8e5e10db19e6d13f6b8bbed96a5.js"></script> <script> $('.footnote').tooltip(); </script> </html>