FORT LAUDERDALE – The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) will
recognize Forrest Nelson for his extensive contributions to the administration of open
water swimming with the 2025 Irving Davids/Captain Roger W. Wheeler Memorial
Award. The award will be presented to Nelson during the International Marathon
Swimming Hall of Fame (IMSHOF) Induction and Award Ceremony in Jersey on
Saturday May 17th, 2025.
The Irving Davids/Captain Roger W. Wheeler Memorial Award is presented annually
by the International Swimming Hall of Fame to the individual who has contributed the
most to the administration of open water swimming.
This year’s award recognizes Forrest Nelson, an open water swimming administrator
from the United States of America. Nelson led the Catalina Channel Swimming
Federation (CCSF), an IMSHOF Honor Organization, from 2011 until 2022. While
serving as President, the federation grew substantially. While retaining the core
members of the CCSF Board of Directors, he recruited additional talent in anticipation
of this growth. Nelson invited additional boat captains to escort the surge in applicants.
The CCSF observed three times as many successful solo swimmers, and 15 times the
number of successful relays in his ten years as president, than the previous ten years.
This expansion occurred while maintaining the organization’s reputation for
implementing one of the most robust safety plans among major open water
organizations.
Forrest Nelson and team helped evolve the organization’s registration process,
observer training, and kayak support, to make applying to Catalina one of the most
straightforward and streamlined of the Triple Crown and the Oceans Seven Swims.
One outcome of his leadership has been a substantial increase in the number of
international swimmers attempting the 20-mile stretch of open water between Catalina
Island and Los Angeles, California.
Nelson himself is an accomplished marathon swimmer, completing the Triple Crown of
open water swimming in 2007. He set the speed record for the 74.7 km swim around
Catalina Island in 25 hours and 35 minutes. IMSHOF recognized Nelson as an Honor
Swimmer in 2015 and he has been a faithful supporter of IMSHOF, attending nine
Induction and Awards Ceremonies since 2012.
For additional information, please call Ned Denison in Ireland at (+353) 87-987-1573 or ISHOF at (+1954) 462-6536, or visit http://www.ishof.org