Steve Munatones
1986 - 1987 HISTORY
The Middle Era
Australian Connection
Steve started the relationship with Bondi Beach, Austrailia. This involved exchanging winners which grew into a warm long-distance relationship. This in turn has led to a steady supply of very fast ocean swimmers coning to Hawaii and taking home a number of winner’s koa bowls!
Swim Clinics Begin
Steve started a series of five Roughwater swim clinics leading up to the race. These have now been popular for decades.
Bus Service & Swim Caps
Steve started a bus service from finish to start. Yet another new idea was getting TYR and McCully Bicycles to donate all the swim caps.
Springboard to Fame
Steve credits his WRS experience as a great stepping stone to his present position as world dean of Open Water Swimming with multiple web sites keeping tens of thousands of swimmers "in the swim". He is now an expert on open water swimming throughout the world. He tells us we were, for many years, the biggest swim in the world at one time. We are still the largest, he says, in the USA. Taiwan has a couple of swims with as many as 26,000 swimmers ! Did we cause that?
WE HOPE STEVE WILL READ THIS AND FLESH IT OUT WITH MORE MEMORIES !!
