Ron Collins

Clearwater lifeguards on Earnhardt Beach in St. Petersburg at the first crossing of Tampa Bay that later became the Tampa Bay Frogman Swim. Photo includes Terry Tomalin, Ron Collins, and Dan O'Shea

Ron Collins (born 4 May 1962) is an American pool and open water swimmer, coach and race director of open water swimming competitions and charity swims.

Open Water Swimming Career Highlights

• Collins was the first person to swim across Tampa Bay in 1998.
• Collins is the race director and founder of the 24-mile Tampa Bay Marathon Swim.
• Together with his wife Rebecca Collins, Collins the co-founder and race director of the Swim Across America Tampa Bay, a charity swim that is part of the Swim Across America program, and the Open Water Boot Camp in Clearwater, Florida.
• Collins founded Distance Matters that promotes and organizes the Tampa Bay Marathon Swim and Open Water Boot Camp.
• Collins achieved the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming and Grand Slam of Open Water Swimming on 10 September 2013.
  • On 15 April 1998, he completed the first 37 km Tampa Bay Marathon Swim in Florida in 9 hours 52 minutes at the age of 35.
  • On 23 June 2002, he completed the 45.8 km Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in New York in 8 hours 26 minutes at the age of 40.
  • On 5 September 2004, he completed a crossing of the English Channel from England to France in 14 hours 7 minutes at the age of 42.
  • On 5 November 2005, he completed a 10 km course in Fort Myers, Florida in 3 hours 2 minutes 9 seconds.
  • On 10 September 2013, he completed a 32.3 km crossing of the Catalina Channel from Santa Catalina Island to the Southern California mainland in 10 hours 5 minutes 29 seconds at the age of 51.
• He took the July photo of Marcy MacDonald in the 2019 Marathon Swimmers Federation calendar.

Catalina Channel Half Century Club

1. Jim Clifford (USA), 62 years 11 months, CM in 9:49 on 28 September 2014
2. Bob West (USA), 62, CM in 15:49 in 1998
3. Gary Greenwood (USA), 62, CM in 13:08 in 2004
4. Pat Gallant-Charette (USA), 60, CM in 14:11 in 2011
5. Mo Siegel (USA), 60, CM in 13:08 in 2011
6. Scott Lautman (USA), 60 CM in 12:09 in 2013
7. Bob Needham (USA), 58, CM in 13:10 in 2011
8. Tom Hecker (USA), 57, CM in 10:45 in 2009
9. Richard Knepper (USA), 56, MC in 11:56 in 2005
10. Barbara Held (USA), 56, CM in 9:36 in 2010
11. Mark Smitherman (USA), 56, CM in 11:52 in 2014
12. Carol Sing (USA), 55, CM in 10:38 in 1997
13. Bill Hoehn (USA), 55, CM in 12:57 in 2005
14. Kevin Murphy (Great Britain), 54, CM in 15:23 in 2003
15. Roger Finch (South Africa), 54, CM in 9:45:02 in 2012
16. Dave Van Mouwerik (USA), 54, CM in 12:09:07 in 2012
17. Ned Denison (Ireland), 54, CM 8:50:04 in 2012
18. Peter Tanham (Australia), 54, CM in 10:07 in 2014
19. Anthony McCarley (USA), 54, CM in 13:00.3 in 2014
20. Nick Almos-Lau (Mexico), 53, CM in 12:40 in 1999
21. James Fitzpatrick (USA), 53, CM in 14:59 in 2008 (to Newport Beach)
22. Jim McConica (USA), 53, CM in 10:19 in 2004
23. Douglas McConnell (USA), 53, CM in 12:41:13 in 2012
24. David Cooper (USA), 52, CM in 13:19 in 2005
25. Dan Richards (USA), 52, CM in 10:10 2008
26. Chris Burke (USA), 52, CM in 11:22 in 2014
27. Alan Bell (USA), 51, CM in 9:28 in 2001
28. Chris Palfrey (Australia), 51, CM in 10:30 in 2009
29. Lynn Kubasek (USA), 51, CM in 15:53 in 2009
30. Daniel Robinson (USA), 51, CM in 9:57 in 2008
31. Ron Collins (USA), 51, CM in 10:05 on 10 September 2013
32. Antonio Argüelles (Mexico), 50, CM in 10:25 in 2009
33. William Newbern (USA), 50, CM in 12:48 in 2005
34. Ray Meltvedt (USA), 50, CM in 15:25 in 2010
35. Suzie Dods (USA), 50, MC in 18:36 in 2010
36. Dale Petranech (USA), 50, CM in 13:28 in 1985
37. John Hill (USA), 50, CM in 19:15 in 1985
38. Frank Reynolds (USA), 50, CM in 10:34 in 1987
39. Jim Barber (USA), 50, CM in 8:43 in 2010
40. Sue Free (USA), 50, CM in 11:23 in 2012
41. Bridgette Hobart Janeczko (USA), 50, CM 11:27:16 in 2012
42. Hendrik Meerman (USA), CM, 50, 12:48:30 in 2012
43. Scott Tapley (USA), MC, 50, 17:43:12 in 2014

External links

• Dan O'Shea, Co-Founder Of The Tampa Bay Frogman Swim
• Gotta Keep Your Discipline, John Muenzer And Ned Denison On WOWSA Live
• Fastest Times Of The Grand Slam Of Open Water Swimming
• Finishing Strongly In The Second Half Of Life
• Catalina Channel Swimming Federation
• Tampa Bay Marathon Swim
• 30 Open Water Swimmers Known By One Name
• Tampa Bay Makes Waves To Fight Cancer
• Swim Across America
• Open Water Swimming
• Marathon Swimming
• World Open Water Swimming Association
• List Of Marathon Swims Around The World
• Doug McConnell Digs Deep vs. A Zillion Little Barbs
• Distance Matters In Tampa Bay
• Expect The Unexpected In Tampa Bay
• Dealing With Insomnia Before Getting In The Open Water
• MSF Rules Of Marathon Swimming Announced
• Tampa Bay Frogman Swim Continues To Grow
• Anthony McCarley Taking It To Another Level
• Tough Tackle Turbulent Tampa
• Collins On The Kattack
• Hertz Goes Into Overdrive
• Triple Crowners Showcase Their Fountain Of Youth - Age of Triple Crowners
• What Are Swimmers Known As?
• Distance Matters In Tampa Bay
• Distance Matters Twitter
• Rough Handling Involves Gentle Approach
• Konrad Euler, A Man With An Iron Will
• Swimmers Of The 18th 24-Mile Tampa Bay Marathon Swim
• Giving Back In The Open Water
• Rough Handling Involves Gentle Approach
• Epic V5: The Go-To Support Craft for Paddlers And Marathon Swimmers
• Stephen Carroll Leads Tampa Bay Marathon Swim
• Patty Hermann + Martin Strel 5.0 In Tampa Bay
• David Parcells, Terry Tomalin Honored At Tampa Bay Marathon
• Jay Eckert Suits Up To Lead Fast Field Across Tampa Bay
• A Million Reasons To Congratulate Swim Across America
• Open Water Swimming
• The Doctor To Kickoff New Year's 24 Times
• Marathon Swimmers Federation bio
• Marcy MacDonald's New Year's Resolution
• Spring Training For Marathon Swimmers
• They Hit Grand Slams In The Open Water
• Updated Grand Slam Of Open Water Swimming
• Grand Slam Of Open Water Swimming Updated List
• The Year David Was Barraesque
• Pat Marzulli Talks About His Record-Setting Crossing
• A Year With The Marathon Swimmers Federation
• Marcia Cleveland Hits A Grand Slam
• Dr. Jamie Proffit Wins Coast To Coast
• Joe & John Zemaitis, Two-fer In Tampa Bay