Claudio Plit (born November 7, 1954) is an Argentine swimmer who won four world titles in professional

open water swimming Open water swimming is a swimming discipline which takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, lakes, and rivers. Competitive open water swimming is governed by the International Swimming Federation, World Aquatics (formerly kno ...

and was inducted as an honoree in the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

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, USA, in 2014.

Early life

He was born in the city of

Rosario, Santa Fe Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...

, in 1954. He was the less of two brothers. After his father´s sudden death, when he was 6 years old, swimming took an important role in his life, promoted by his mother. She sent him and his brother to practice swimming at the "Atletico Fisherton" Club, a

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

in the Fisherton neighbor in Rosario, where Claudio learnt to swim and then started to participate in local competitions. At age 12, Claudio, who was used to swimming in the pool, decided to participate in his first

competition in the

Paraná river The Paraná River ( ; ; ) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. ...

in the city of

, in which he arrived in the second place in his age group. After this start, he came back to compete in the same race when he was 15 years old, but this time he conquered the first place in the general competition, an achievement that he repeated for three years in a row. In 1973, as the winner of the Argentine Open Water Championships he was supposed to travel to Italy as an amateur swimmer to compete in Europe, but a delay in the confirmation of his travel from the local organization, made him change his plans. Disappointed by not being able to travel to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, he was invited then by a friend to compete professionally in the

Lac Saint-Jean Lac Saint-Jean (, ) is a large, relatively shallow lake in south-central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentian Highlands. It is situated north of the Saint Lawrence River, into which it drains via the Saguenay River. It covers an area of , and is ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Since he did not have any money for the plane ticket, his friend helped him to obtain a bank credit to be able to fly to Canada. This travel turned out to be a turning point in his life. With 18 years old, he raced for the first time in the cold waters of Lac Saint-Jean and arrived in the third place in his inaugural international professional competition, an achievement that would be the beginning of his professional career.

Career

He began swimming in the Paraná river when he was a boy and later started his professional career competing in national and international races that concluded in a three-decade career taking part in more than 250 marathon swims throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. After having won the national championships of open water swimming in his country, he was five times the winner of the marathon swimming race Traversée Internationale du Lac Saint-Jean in

Quebec, Canada Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

(1981-1985-1986-1987-1988). Until 1997, he completed 25 swims in the Traversée Internationale du Lac Saint-Jean and was declared

Honorary Citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honor usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

in this Canadian city. He won the 63-kilometer marathon swimming race Santa Fe-Coronda Marathon four times in a row in 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977. Other milestones of his career included the establishment of a new Latin-American record in the crossing of the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

and a new record in a 23-hour swim uniting the cities of Santa Fe and Rosario in Argentina. He was the President of the Federation of Professional Swimmers (1980-82 y 1990). He received a

Konex Award Konex Foundation Awards, or simply Konex Awards, are cultural awards from the Konex Foundation honouring Argentine cultural personalities. History and purpose Konex Awards are granted by the Konex Foundation, created in 1980 in Argentina. The p ...

for his achievements in swimming in 1990. Known for his endurance in cold waters, he now coaches open water swimmers in the crossing of the

and travels worldwide giving lectures and coaching swimmers in marathon swimming competitions.Viaje a la cabeza de un deportista
La Nación. 09/02/2011. Retrieved on December 2, 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plit, Claudio 1954 births Living people Sportspeople from Rosario, Santa Fe Argentine male swimmers 20th-century Argentine sportsmen