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David Rich
David Rich is a 53-year-old American open water swimmer from San Francisco, California. A competitive pool swimmer since age 6, he transitioned to open water swimming when he started competing in triathlons in the late 1980's. Since then, he has been training and racing year round with the Dolphin Club in the San Francisco Bay, completing the distance from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco over 30 times.
2019 World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year Nomination
David Rich’s Ancient Seven Seas concept was nominated for the 2019 World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year award as follows:
The Oceans Seven is a difficult challenge that has attracted some of the world's foremost channel swimmers - only 18 have completed it to date. A new swim challenge, the Ancient Seven Seas offers a similar global concept with the goal of inspiring and expanding participation through more accessible marathon swims. At a minimum of 10 kilometers in each of the Ancient Seven Seas (Mediterranean Sea, Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and North Sea), this unassisted solo challenge takes swimmers through the cradle of civilization with different cultures, religions and views. Lewis Pugh's original Seven Swims in the Seven Seas for 1 Reason, completed in 2014, was its inspiration. Swimmers can select and create their own preferred courses in the Seven Seas and do not necessarily need to be shore-to-shore or point-to-point. For building bridges with other cultures while interacting around a common love of the oceans and swimming; for creating a serious yet accessible marathon adventure, in terms of time and training, that enables more swimmers to participate; and for advancing the long history and concept of the Seven Seas, The Ancient Seven Seas challenge proposed by David Rich is a worthy nominee for the 2019 World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year.
Open Water Swimming Career
- On 8 August 2004, he completed 11th in the 26.4 km Lake Zurich Marathon Swim in Switzerland in 9 hours 48 minutes 27 seconds at the age of 40.
- Rich has crossed the Strait of Gibraltar on 22 July 2006 in 5 hours 5 minutes from Ahmiar Point in Spain to Morocco at the age of 42.
- Rich is the first American to cross the 15 km Bonifacio Channel from Corsica, France to Sardinia, Italy, coached by Alessandro Gottardis and escorted by pilot Tomasso Muntoni in 4 hours 56 minutes on 8 July 2015.
- Rich has traveled the world as an early pioneer and competitor in numerous relay and solo swims, some across continents including: the English Channel (relay from England to France) and solo swims across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Africa, the Maui Channel in the Hawaiian islands, Lake Windermere in England, Lake Zurich in Switzerland and the Dardanelles Strait in Turkey which separates Asia from Europe.
- On 22 July 2006, he completed a 14.4 km crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco in 5 hours 5 minutes at the age of 42.
- On 30 August 2008, he completed a 15.9 km crossing of the Maui Channel from Lanai to Maui in 5 hours 48 minutes 4 seconds at the age of 44.
- On 19 August 2017, he finished fifth in the 25.8-mile (45.8 km) 20 Bridges Manhattan Island Swim in New York City in 7 hours 40 minutes 24 seconds at the age of 53.
- On 13 July 2018, he completed a widthwise 19.2 km crossing of Lake Tahoe in California in 7 hours 24 minutes 36 seconds at the age of 54.
- On 7 August 2018, he completed a 19.6 km crossing from Anacapa Island to the California mainland in 7 hours 53 minutes at the age of 54.
- In September 2019, he proposed and coined The Ancient Seven Seas, a series of seven marathon swims for solo swimmers of at least 10 km in the Mediterranean Sea, Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and North Sea.
External links
- 2019 WOWSA Award Winners Announced
- Travesía Interminable Is 2019 World Open Water Swimming Offering Of The Year
- Gulf Of Finland Relay Is 2019 World Open Water Swimming Performance Of The Year
- Adherbal Treidler de Oliveira Is 2019 World Open Water Swimming Man Of The Year
- Mariel Hawley Dávila Is 2019 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year
- 2019 World Open Water Swimming Man Of The Year Nominees
- 2019 World Open Water Swimming Woman Of The Year Nominees
- 2019 World Open Water Swimming Performance Of The Year Nominees
- 2019 World Open Water Swimming Offering Of The Year Nominees
- 2019 WOWSA Awards Nominees
- 2019 World Open Water Swimming Offering Of The Year Nominees
- A Rich Concept: The Ancient Seven Seas
- Diego López Wins As Kevin Cassidy, Ian Down Complete The Triple Crown
- 20 Bridges Around Manhattan Redux On August 19
- Rich As Can Be Across The Bonifacio Channel
- New York Open Water
- New York Open Water Facebook page
- Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming
- FLASH! Swimming Around Manhattan Island Is On
- World Open Water Swimming Association
- Open Water Swimming
- Celebrating Swimmers Of The Santa Barbara Channel
