Obituary: Gunnar Werner – EA Honorary Member and influential advocate for open water swimming’s Olympic inclusion

It is with great sadness that European Aquatics announces the death of its Honorary Member Gunnar Werner, who has passed away peacefully in his native Sweden aged 94.

Gunnar was a lifelong champion of Masters, long distance and open water swimming who played a key role in the inclusion of the latter event in the Olympics.

He was elected as a Bureau member both of FINA (now World Aquatics) and LEN (now European Aquatics), serving as Honorary Secretary for FINA from 1992 to 2000 and for LEN from 1990 to 1992.

For LEN he was a Bureau member from 1976 to 1987, and became Vice President from 1988 to 1991.

He was also an Honorary Member for FINA, which awarded him its Gold Pin in 1988.

Gunnar, pictured below, also served on the International Olympic Committee’s Legal Affairs Commission from 1996 to 1999 and was a member of the Swedish Olympic Committee’s working committee from 1976 to 1984.

He played a key role in the introduction of open water to swimming to the Olympics as the FINA Bureau Liaison for the initial FINA Open Water Commission that studied the possibility of adding the event to the Games.

Open water swimming has been part of the Olympic programme since the Beijing 2008 Games.

Gunnar served also as vice president of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport, which was established to facilitate the resolution of sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation and to safeguard the independence of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

He supported his beloved sport throughout a successful career with Werner’s Law Firm in Karlstad.

His two surviving children – Ingrid and Anna – told European Aquatics: “Gunnar would have turned 95 on May 14, 2025, and lived a long and exciting life. His work for European Aquatics (LEN) gave him so much joy and was an important part of his life.”

We at European Aquatics would like to send our deepest condolences to the Werner family, who can take great solace from the memory that Gunnar Werner lived a long life marked by an outstanding contribution to the development of aquatics and integrity in sport.

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