Pioneer Era

Ederle swam from France to England in 1926 wearing a two piece suit and grease, beating the existing mens record by nearly ten hou...

Ethelda Bleibtrey

Bleibtrey took gold in the 100 m freestyle, 300 m freestyle and 4x100 m relay at Antwerp 1920, setting world records in every race...

Duke Kahanamoku

Kahanamoku won the 100 m freestyle at Stockholm 1912 and Antwerp 1920, with a silver and relay gold besides, swimming with a then ...

Alfred Hajos

Hajos won the 100 m and 1200 m freestyle in the cold open water of the Bay of Zea at the first modern Games at age 18. He later be...

Piscine des Tourelles

The Tourelles pool in Paris introduced the 50 m course that became the Olympic standard, with Johnny Weissmuller starring in three...

Empire Pool, Wembley

The Empire Pool beside Wembley Stadium hosted aquatic events at the 1948 London Games after opening for the 1934 Empire Games. Its...

Berlin Olympic Swim Stadium

The Schwimmstadion in the Berlin Reichssportfeld hosted swimming, diving and water polo at the 1936 Games in an outdoor bowl of st...

Piscine Molitor

Molitor opened in 1929 with indoor and outdoor pools ringed by art deco terraces in bright color schemes. It closed in 1989, was s...

Bondi Icebergs Pool

The Icebergs pool sits at the south end of Bondi Beach with waves regularly washing over its edge, attached to a winter swimming c...

Alfred Hajos Swimming Complex

The Hajos complex on Margaret Island in Budapest opened in 1930, designed in part by Alfred Hajos, the 1896 champion who became an...

First English Channel Crossing

Matthew Webb breaststroked from Dover to Calais in August 1875, unassisted by modern nutrition science, drinking brandy and cod li...

First Channel Crossing by a Woman

Ederle crossed from Cap Gris Nez to Kingsdown in 1926 wearing a two piece suit and lanolin grease, using motorcycle goggles sealed...

First Catalina Channel Crossing

The 1927 Wrigley Ocean Marathon offered prize money to swim about 32 km from Catalina Island to the California mainland. Canadian ...

Hellespont Crossing

The Hellespont, about 1.2 km wide at its narrowest, links the Aegean and the Sea of Marmara with strong surface current. The legen...

First Modern Olympic Swimming Events

The 1896 Games held swimming in the sea at the Bay of Zea, with water around 13 degrees and swimmers brought out by boat and told ...

First Sub-60-Second 100 m Freestyle