Recognising strength in numbers, Paltrinieri recruited groups of local swimmers to join him in his efforts. Even a neon green event mascot answering to the name Dana, depicting the local endangered Hawksbill Turtle, was in on the ocean clean-up.  

“We should give more than we take from the environment,” the 27-year-old remarked on his long-standing mission to protect the environment. “While I am swimming, I feel part of nature. When I am swimming and I see beautiful places ruined, I feel like it is our mission to do something and help preserve the natural environment.”

With Paltrinieri and his aquatics colleagues invested in ecology, it’s time to celebrate their work to make our waters an inviting place. The issue is real. Despite living on a planet covered two-thirds in water, over two billion people are living without access to clean drinking water.

#WorldWaterDay | Highlighting fresh water’s importance

Helping champion solutions to this essential cause is the United Nations (UN). Since 1993, the UN has celebrated society’s actions to provide clean water on 22 March with #WorldWaterDay.  

With a FINA delegation wrapping up a nine-day tour of Africa and Yemen, #WorldWaterDay was on the mind of the recently retired standout Dutch swimmer Ranomi Kromowidjojo.

"Meeting with eager swimmers in their communities throughout Africa showed me just how much passion there is for aquatic sports around the globe,” Kromowidjojo said. “I came into this trip looking to inspire others; I leave this tour inspired by the young swimmers.

“The circle of inspiration leaves me even more excited about my life outside of swimming professionally. I encourage everyone to find a way to get involved. And what better than to start on #WorldWaterDay?"

Golden Gesture

Most athletes will tell you an Olympic gold medal is priceless. For Team USA’s Anthony Ervin, his 50m Freestyle win at the Sydney 2000 Olympics made for a golden gesture when he auctioned his medal in 2005 to benefit the Tsunami Relief Fund.

"The medal itself is just a symbol of the work I put in," Ervin said at the time.

“Environmental issues around the water became a cause after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami took the lives of over 200,000 people,” Ervin told FINA on #WorldWaterDay 2022. “I began to think deeply of swimming as an important life-saving skill that more people need access to.”

Ervin’s ecological involvement takes place at the local level as well. From working with the non-profit ‘Water for the Thirsty’ to organising litter pickups at public water spaces, to making sure that campers at his youth swim camps in Hawaii help clean up their own, and others, rubbish.

“I would tell my fellow athletes that finding their own way of promoting ecology, be it large or small, is an earthly and human good,” Ervin said. “Reflect on your experiences with the water and start with how you could have left the water better than when you arrived.  From there it is a continuously creative process inventing ways to improve the environment.”

Anthony Ervin and Olympic Gold Come Full Circle

If you’re wondering if Ervin misses having his Sydney 2000 Olympic gold in hand, he still has the memories.

“The work was what was mine,” Ervin said. “And the time I invested; I still have that. That dedication and tenacity and trying to pursue things with excellence, I still have that. By doing this, it's a good way of being able to give back."

Olympic gold and Anthony Ervin would come full circle as he swam to first place in the Rio 2016 Games 50m Freestyle final.

Ervin’s Rio 2016 efforts earned the then 35-year-old a notable distinction: the oldest individual Olympic gold medal winner in swimming’s history.

And the person Ervin displaced from holding that title? None other than his teammate Michael Phelps, someone who knows a little something about Olympic gold.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Support from the business community is vital for the aquatics community to reach its goals in sustainability, ecology and enhancing water safety.

Being a good and ecological neighbour doesn’t just start and stop with the athletes; it’s intertwined throughout our sports and partnerships.  To find out more about what FINA’s Official Partners are doing on the corporate social responsibility front, you can check out their efforts here:

Yakult                

Nikon                 

Hisamitsu          

TV Asahi