Capping off what was a momentous year Irishman Stephen Redmond has been named as 2012 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year. The award honors the man who (1) best embodies the spirit of open water swimming, (2) possesses the sense of adventure, tenacity and perseverance that open water swimmers are known for, and (3) most positively influenced the world of open water swimming. No more have these attributes been more typified than in Redmond who in 2012 made history by becoming the first and only person to complete the Oceans Seven challenge last July.
The 46 year old amateur long distance swimmer, a native of Castledermot in Kildare and long term resident of Ballydehob in West Cork, has excelled in the tough sport of open water swimming. By successfully continuing to tackle some of the most dangerous and arduous open sea channels in the world he couldn’t be a more worthy winner. He captivated our hearts and won our undiluted respect with his single minded quest to conquer the Oceans strongest currents and swim the seven ocean currents which he achieved against all odds this summer.
Using the lakes and coastal waters around West Cork as his own training grounds, and with continued support from family and friends, over three years he has swam some of the most treacherous and tiring channels and open waters in the world on his quest to conquer the mighty oceans seven. His amazing achievement on 14th July which will be hard to repeat was one of the most remarkable sporting feats of the Irish sporting year and helped bring the little known sport of open water swimming as well as the little West Cork town of Ballydehob to the world’s attention.