This photo gallery features open water marathon swimmers of an earlier era, including competitors in the 1927 Wrigley Marathon Swim and the pioneers of the Catalina Channel who successfully crossed well before the 1981 formation of the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation.

The majority of these black & white photos are generously donated from the private collection of Chris Geer, who himself is a Catalina Channel swimmer. What Chris has loaned to the CCSF is just a small sample of his vast array of marathon swimming pictures. The CCSF thanks Chris for assisting us in documenting our history and sharing these archival photos with you. We encourage you to visit his private gallery.