Swim Miami is an open-water swimming event held annually in south

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The most recent event took place on May 7, 2017. Today the event is owned and operated by the H2O’s Foundation, a foundation dedicated to eradicating drowning in south Florida. The swim also helps to develop open-water swimming as an Olympic-style sport in Florida.

History

The original Swim Miami began in 1989 by Jimmy Woodman, founder of Active.com, in conjunction with Florida Sports Magazine and continued successfully through 1998. In 2005, Miami Sports International, a subsidiary of Swim Gym Aquatics, led by four-year

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

swimming captain Jonathan Strauss, then restored the event and adapted it to the future of open water swimming. The original idea and concepts for Swim Miami came about due to a demand to bring open-water swimming to the forefront of aquatic sports with intentions of developing it into an Olympic sport. It was also created as a way for swimmers to give back to the sport that was able to give them a life of health and fitness. Swim Miami’s growth and popularity can largely be accredited to its focus on Olympic-style swimming and its elite swim field. Past Olympians and professionals to swim in the event have included

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, Ed Moses,

Nathan Adrian Nathan Ghar-jun Adrian (born December 7, 1988) is an American competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist who formerly held the American record in the long course 50-meter freestyle event. In his Olympic debut at the 2008 Summer O ...

, Robert Strauss, and Tiffany Cohen.

Current day

Swim Miami takes place annually in April. Originally staged at the Miami Rowing Club in Key Biscayne, FL, the event moved to the Miami Yacht Club on Watson Island (Miami) in 2011. Swim Miami currently consists of four swims: a ten-kilometer swim, a five-kilometer swim, the Miami Mile, and an eight-hundred meter swim. In 2017, the event returned to its original location at the Miami Rowing Club. Once restored, Swim Miami was first sponsored by the brand

Speedo Speedo International Limited is a distributor of swimwear and swim-related accessories based in Nottingham, England, known for its swim briefs. The company has roots in Australia but is no longer based there. Founded in Sydney in 1914 by A ...

in 2005 and 2006. Sponsorship has since switched to the Nike Swim brand, licensed and owned by

Perry Ellis International Perry Ellis International is an American clothing, fashion, cosmetics and beauty company that includes a portfolio of brands distributed through multiple channels worldwide. The company focuses primarily on sportswear and casual clothing for nic ...

. Due to strong popular branding of both the swim and its location, the event is well patronized by the general public, attracting upwards of 2,000 combined participants and spectators in the four race categories. The success of the Swim Miami race led organizers to create two additional events for the South Florida area, Swim Miami Beach and Swim Fort Lauderdale Beach.

References

{{reflist Recurring sporting events established in 1989 Sports in Miami

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

Open water swimming 1989 establishments in Florida