WOWSA Awards in Partnership with Outdoor Swimmer
Who Will Define the Next Century of Open Water?
On 6 August 1926, Gertrude Ederle stepped out of the water on the English coast as the first woman to swim the Channel, nearly two hours faster than any man who’d done it before her. New York gave her the biggest ticker-tape parade the city had ever thrown. She’d said beforehand that she had the confidence she could do it. She was right.
Thursday 6 August 2026 is the 100th anniversary of that swim. It’s also the day nominations open for the 2026 WOWSA Awards.
A hundred years after Ederle changed what the world believed was possible, we’re asking the open water community to recognise the people shaping what comes next.
Four Categories, One Standard
- Marathon Swimmer of the Year — an outstanding performance in 2026 on an established course or discipline, measured against a known distance, route, or precedent.
- Pioneer Swimmer of the Year — a credible, verifiable swim or expedition that didn’t exist as a challenge until this swimmer took it on. No prior record, because nobody had conceived of it before.
- Para Open Water Swimmer of the Year — a swimmer with a recognised para-sport classification who excelled in open water in 2026.
- Community Impact Award — someone whose leadership or initiative made the sport safer, more accessible, more inclusive, or more valuable to a community this year.
Who Deserves This
Think about who got you into this sport. Who swam when nobody thought they could? Who showed up for their community, season after season, without expecting anything back?
A nomination takes about ten minutes. Self-nominations are welcome, and every eligible nomination is judged on merit.
Nominations Open Thursday, August 6
Public nominations run from 6 August through to 31 December 2026. Finalists are announced and voting opens on 2 February 2027. Voting closes on 14 February, and winners are named at the awards ceremony on 28 February 2027.
This year’s awards are presented in partnership with Outdoor Swimmer magazine.
WOWSA has named Gertrude Ederle the 2026 Legacy Honoree, marking a century since the swim that changed what was thought possible in the water.
Outdoor Swimmer
Outdoor Swimmer is the magazine for outdoor swimmers by outdoor swimmers. We write about fabulous wild swimming locations, amazing swim challenges, swim training advice and swimming gear reviews.
