Table of Contents

Chapter 1. The Open Water Swimmer

Chapter 2. Overcoming the Elements

Chapter 3. Choosing Your Events

Chapter 4. The Open-Water Tool Kit

Chapter 5. Building a Faster Freestyle

Chapter 6. Preparing for Short-Distance Swims

Chapter 7. Preparing for Middle-Distance Swims

Chapter 8. Preparing for Marathon Swims

Chapter 9. Racing Tactics for Every Event

Chapter 10. Triathlon Training and Finishing Fast

About the Author

Steven Munatones is a former professional marathon swimmer and a renowned coach. He has served as the national team coach at the 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007 World Swimming Championships and the 2004 World Open Water Swimming Championships. In addition, he serves as editor in chief of the Daily News of Open Water Swimming and created the Open Water Swimming Dictionary.

Munatones manages the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Web site and served as the NBC commentator for the men’s and women’s 10K marathon swim during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. During the Games he provided his expertise on the sport to a variety of media, including NBC-TV, Universal Sports, Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, USAToday, New York Times, National Geographic magazine, and the Associated Press. His writing has appeared in Swimming World, Australia Swimming, and USMS Swimmer. He annually publishes the World’s Top 100 Open Water Swims and America’s Top 50 Open Water Swims. He also created the most popular Web sites on open-water swimming, including www.openwatersource.com and www.10Kswim.com.

He is also on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee that serves as the world’s governing body of the sport and provides information and guidance to the Amateur Swimming Union of the Americas, USA Swimming, and U.S. Masters Swimming.

Munatones lives in Huntington Beach, California, with his wife and four children.

Reviews

"Whether you are planning on racing in an ocean, lake, river, canal, bay, dam, or reservoir, Open Water Swimming is your best guide to success. Steven Munatones wrote the perfect book for athletes of all levels who want to compete in the open waters of the world!" Brent Rutemiller -- Publisher of Swimming World Magazine“Steven Munatones delivers an all-encompassing book, and I only wish I had access to it when I was starting out my career. Simply put, Open Water Swimming is the best source for anyone—whether a beginner or a world-class swimmer—braving the open water." John Flanagan -- Head Coach, Kamehameha Swim Club, 1998 World Championship Gold medalist, 1999 Pan Pacific Championship Gold Medalist "Steven Munatones takes you on a journey through the world of open water training. It’s fascinating for all who venture beyond the shoreline for leisure, triathlons, or ultramarathon swims." Aaron Piersol -- Seven-Time Olympic Medalist, Five-Time World-Record Holder, Seven-Time World Champion "Open Water Swimming explains the amazing spectrum of open water swimming from one of the gurus of the sport. This book is a must-have." Maarten van der Weijden -- 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist, 10K open water, 2008 World Championship Gold Medalist, 25K open water