Great Bay Masters Swimming member Amanda Smith Dakowicz embodies the best of what it means to be an open water swimmer. The Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based swimmer and triathlete has made a substantial contribution to open water both as an athlete and as a supporter of others aiming to achieve big things in the sport.

In 2022, Smith Dakowicz completed a 9.22-kilometer clockwise circumnavigation of the Isles of Shoals in the Gulf of Maine in 3 hours, 37 minutes, 44 seconds. A top triathlete, she often swims in a wetsuit and completed this event while wearing a wetsuit, booties, and two caps to ward off Maine’s frigid chill. The swim was ratified by the World Open Water Swimming Association.

Smith Dakowicz has also completed the 25-kilometer Border Buster in Lake Memphremagog in 2021 and the 12-mile Swim with a Mission in Newfound Lake, New Hampshire.

Always ready to give back, Smith Dakowicz acted as observer for Alyssa Langlais’ 12-kilometer Boon Island to Long Sands Beach, York, swim on July 17, 2021. It was the first documented swim on that course and was ratified by the Marathon Swimmers Federation thanks to Smith Dakowicz’s diligent documentation.

She is also a certified Adult Learn-to-Swim instructor and has helped out coaching at open water swimming clinics, volunteered at races, and served as a kayaker for several area open water events.

As one admirer notes, “whether it’s a 4 a.m. wake-up call or needing a pep talk 8 miles into a training swim, Amanda has been there to pick me up and keep me motivated. Amanda has done this not just for me, but for so many on the Seacoast, around New England, the country, and even the world. She will go out of her way traveling in a foreign country to find an open water swimming meetup group and form friendships there. And, she inspires swimmers everywhere she goes. She’s a cheerleader at every level, whether it’s a swim practice or a national level event.”

Smith Dakowicz played water polo at Cornell University and coaches the Portsmouth High School swim team.