Sometimes, the fastest swimmers don’t consider lending a hand to the slower swimmers around them, but happily, that’s not the case with long-time volunteer and passionate advocate of open water swimming, Alana Aubin.
The enthusiastic New England Masters Swim Club member started swimming competitively at age 10 and launched her open water swimming career some 13 years later. She finished her first marathon swim in 2016. The whip-smart Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduate has climbed the podium of many open water events over the years, including these selected highlights:
2nd overall in the 2015 Charles River Swim
1st overall Charles River Swim in 2016, coincidently placing ahead of Frank Wuest with an epic battle at the end, winning by less than 5 seconds that year
5th place finish in the 2016 10K Kingdom Swim in Vermont
3rd place finish in the 2017 10K Kingdom Swim in Vermont
1st female (2nd overall) in the 2018 10K Kingdom Swim in Vermont
1st female finisher (3rd overall) in the 2018 Boston Light Swim
1st overall finisher in the 2019 10K Swim with a Mission in Newfound Lake, New Hampshire
Completed a solo Double Boston Light Swim (16 miles) in 2019 and set a new course record of 6:18:01
2nd place finisher of the 2019 USMS National Championship in Lake Willoughby, Vermont
2019 USMS Long Distance All Star, recognized as a combination of Open Water National Championships and Virtual Championships event results
1st overall in the 2021 10K race at Kingdom Swim, Lake Memphremagog, Vermont
Completed the 2022 Border Buster, a 25K race in Lake Memphremagog, Vermont
1st in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2022 Memphremagog Winter Swimming Festival (water temperature 31 degrees F)
Aubin is a USMS Level 3 certified coach who gives back at many levels of swimming. She has led the New England Masters Swim Club and has served on the NELMSC Board as president and communications chair. Her communications efforts garnered her the 2019 U.S. Masters Swimming June Krauser Award.
Aubin has made a substantial contribution to growing open water swimming in New England by serving as vice president and treasurer for the Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association. In that capacity, she manages the all-volunteer-run non-profit organization’s financial and business operations and assists in organizing the group’s several open water swims, including the flagship Boston Light Swim, an 8-mile race across Boston Harbor that was first staged in 1907.
Through her astute actions and ongoing, passionate dedication, Aubin continues to promote open water swimming while serving as a leader, role model, and committed community builder in the sport.