With June 8th being UN World Oceans Day, it’s time to be part of the tides of change. Our seas make up 70 percent of our planet. Every year on this day decision-makers, scientists, activists, sportspersons and celebrities come together to create awareness about the importance of saving the oceans and enhancing the understanding of the changes we need to make to create a better environment.

At World Aquatics, we’re united by water. Each one of us has a personal connection to our oceans. This holds especially true with our open water athletes.

Here’s what some of the biggest names in open water swimming have to say about putting the ocean first. Following the lead of our aquatic sports heroes, each one of us can play a crucial role in raising awareness of the crucial role water plays in our lives.

World Aquatics caught up with five standouts from the open water swimming scene to get their thoughts on what clean oceans mean to them – and what we can do to cut down on the plastic and pollution that’s hindering this essential environment.  

Leonie Beck

The World Championship gold medallist and five-time winner of the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup opens up about the importance of keeping our ocean and beaches clean.

For me keeping the ocean clean is hugely important – as I think it should be for everyone. It’s our environment, we live on this planet. There are lots of really beautiful animals living in the ocean so I think we should keep our attention on how we leave the beach and how we treat our oceans. I see so much plastic on the beach. That’s not nice, keeping our beaches and ocean clean is something we should try to do and take more pride in doing. It's up to all of us to make a difference.  

Gregorio Paltrinieri

The swimming legend – Olympic champion in the pool and medallist in open water, five-time World Aquatics Champion that has three freestyle short-course (25m) world titles to boot – is known for his fast swimming and his ability to connect with audiences. One of his biggest life passions parallels his sporting career – respecting and caring for our waters.

Keeping the oceans clean is really important for all of us, especially for open water swimmers. I have a project – Dominate the Water - where we’re promoting open water swimming and our beaches. We’re doing this in Italy for now, but I’d like to eventually do this across Europe in the coastal places and communities that we have. We need to make a difference.

When we’re travelling, when we’re doing competitions, we think about how we can do this in the most sustainable way. Using these new, biodegradable cups was really important for these to be used in competition for the first here in Golfo Aranci (Italy - site of a 2023 Open Water Swimming World Cup).   

Added three-time World Aquatics Championships medallist Domenico Acerenza of Italy:

Yes, making steps like using biodegradable cups is an important way forward for our sport. Golfo Aranci, this is a wonderful place. It's important we do our part to keep it clean.

Stephane Lecat

A premier French open water swimmer with a European Championship gold (25km from the 2000 Europeans in Helsinki) and World Championship medal (25km bronze from Fukuoka 2001), Lecat also added to his career palmares by successfully swimming the English Channel in 8 hours and 19 minutes in 2003. The Nogent-sur-Marne native now heads up open water swimming for the French national team as well as being a passionate advocate for clean oceans and our climate.

Oceans are an essential part of the water cycle for all of us. The ocean is resilient, but even the ocean has its limits, which can be affected by human activity of course.

World Oceans Day is an opportunity to raise awareness about the ocean’s importance to our planet. Our oceans play a crucial role in the regulation of our climate, our food supply, as well as in preserving marine life diversity.

For my part, I’m an ambassador for a company that produces swimming pools in a natural environment – like in a lake, sea or river. We create all of this with recycled products and it helps make swimming more accessible for people in areas without traditional swimming pools.

I’m also helping World Aquatics help find the most ecological solutions for hosting events. I think we’re on the right track with things like the biodegradable cups making their debut in Golfo Aranci. I’m so happy about this.

Consider this your call to action. The action that each of us makes will have an impact on our environment. I invite all swimmers to no longer use plastic bottles during their training.  

Lewis Pugh

An endurance swimmer and UN Patron of the Oceans, Pugh has completed long-distance swims in every ocean of the world. The British-South African frequently swims in vulnerable ecosystems to draw attention to their plight. Using what the media have dubbed “Speedo diplomacy,” the ocean advocate’s work through the Lewis Pugh Foundation has helped protect over two million square kilometres of ocean – about the same size of Western Europe. Pugh is urging world leaders to protect at least 30 percent of the world’s oceans by 2030.

World Oceans Day holds a special place in my heart because of my love for swimming and the sea. For me, it is a day to celebrate our oceans and reflect on our responsibility to protect them. I’ve been swimming for 36 years, pioneering swims in the most vulnerable ecosystems to get them protected.

Ultimately, we rely on the oceans for our very survival. When we protect our oceans, we protect our future. Now more than ever, we need to redouble our efforts to protect our wilderness areas, both on land and in the sea.

On World Oceans Day, I urge everyone to ask themselves a simple question: What changes can I make today to help save our planet?

Contributing: John Bailey and Ignasi Vendrell