Naji Ali’s Marathon Swim Story

An amazing story teller with many a story to tell, I could talk to Naji all day! But we finally cut ourselves off after just under an hour. A late onset swimmer, Naji was 43 when he learned to swim and wants nothing to do with pool swimming. “Out there” he says, referring to the Pacific ocean as the place that he wants to practice what he preaches as a Total Immersion Swim Coach. Naji strives to raise awareness of the rich history of black swimmers and while he would prefer to be just another number when swimming around islands and across channels, he’ll settle for blazing the path for future African American Marathon Swimmers, being the first in most of his pursuits, along with Charles Chapman, Mina Rhoden, and Alice Dearing, to name a few.

Naji refers to his interview with Charles Chapman, the first African American to cross the English Channel, it’s a great listen, here are links to each episode: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

In his own words: Naji Ali is a Total Immersion swim coach and marathon swimmer. he began his long distance open water swim obsession back in 2008, and has never looked back. He lives in San Francisco, CA, where he works full time at a soup kitchen, he lives with his wife, Chrissy, and their mischievous cat named, Mrs. Chippy.