Michael P. Read, MBE to Receive the 2019 Poseidon Award
FORT LAUDERDALE – The International Swimming
Hall of Fame (ISHOF) will recognize
Michael P. Read, MBE for his high-level
achievement in marathon swimming with the 2019 Poseidon Award. The Award will be
presented to Michael, on Saturday evening, during the International Marathon
Swimming Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies, on March 9th in
Melbourne Australia. The Poseidon Award is presented annually by
International Swimming Hall of Fame to the organization or individual for high
level achievement from personal effort or initiative in a field of endeavor that
contributes to the performance of marathon swimmers or to the development and
status of Marathon Swimming to the world.
This year’s award honors Michael P. Read, MBE. As a swimmer he has competed more than 130 epic
marathons including 33 crossings of the English Channel. Michael’s first ever swims include a 67 km
(42-mile) quadruple-crossing of Lake Windermere. His longest 96.5 km (60 miles) around Isle
of Wright in 24+ hours and his coldest 38km (24-mile) Loch Ness in 14+ hours in
6° to 7°C (42.8° to 44.7°F) water. Other
International swims include: 40 km
(25-mile) Nile International Championship, 40 km (25 miles), Manhattan Island
and Lake Zurich. A member of Great
Britain’s 1960 Olympic team, he is still active, having completed the Gulf of
Toroneos 26km marathon in 2018 and winning the European Masters 5km
Championship in 2018.
Read
has served as a swimming administrator in one capacity or another for over 60
years. For nearly 45 years he has helped
direct the Channel Swimming Association, becoming Chairman in 1993 and
President in 2007. During this time the
popularity of open water and Channel swimming has exploded.
He was
inducted as an Honor Swimmer in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of
Fame (IMSHOF) in 1978, honored by the ISHOF with the Irving Davids/Captain Roger W. Wheeler Memorial Award in 2009 and inducted
as an Honor Swimmer in 2011. For
his singular contributions to marathon swimming on the international stage,
Michael has been awarded the 2019 Poseidon Award.
For additional information, please call Ned Denison in Ireland at (+353)
87-987-1573 or ISHOF at (954) 462-6536, or visit https://www.ishof.org