Remember Naji Ali? He’s started a discussion group called Outside the Box on the Diversity in Aquatics network. You should check it out. Here the swimmer describes the thrill of open water swimming in his own words.

The San Francisco based swimmer swims daily year round without a wet suit. If the water is 55 degrees, he can swim for 2 hours, though he usually limits his workouts to between 45 minutes and 1 hour, depending on the water temperature.

The subject of fear never comes up. He even talks about a thrill he gets plunging into the dark abyss. Ali has been bitten. He is hooked on the open water, never to return to chlorine again, as he puts it.

He recently sat down and talked with Karen Rogers, a legend in open water. And they talked about leveling the playing field in swimming. About how swimming is now in the position that baseball when it was being integrated. Their tactic for getting more blacks in swimming is to raise the profile of open water swimming. Ali set these goals for the next 4 years to bring some attention to the sport, and to raise money for Project Josh:

2010-2013!

2010 (August) – 18.5k (10 miles) Width of Lake Tahoe

2011 September – 22K (12 Miles) The Strait of Gibraltar

2012 April – 29K (17.4 Miles) The Cook Strait

2013 September – 33.7K (21 Miles) The Catalina Channel

Be on the lookout for great things from this inspiring swimmer!