Oceanman Maldives: 234 foreign swimmers to participate

Oceanman Maldives is the Maldivian event in the Oceanman Global open water swimming franchise. With 234 foreign swimmers having registered, this marks the biggest international competition to be held to this day in Maldives.

When looking at the amount of athletes/competitors, 2014 was the year Maldives saw the biggest sporting event being held in Male' and Addu, with it being the AFC Challenge Cup. Seven international teams competed in the cup, with the number of competitors being higher in the Oceanman Maldives event compared to the AFC Challenge Cup.

The Maldivian event in the world's biggest open water franchise will be held in April this year at K. Maafushi. The event is being organized by private organization Swim Maldives.

The application window for Oceanman Maldives was opened in October 2025, with a total of 301 swimmers having applied. 67 of the 301 swimmers are Maldivian.

60.2 percent of the slots have already been filled, with a total of 501 slots for the competition. Interested applicants can still put their name forward.

There are swimmers from 30 countries out of the 234 foreign swimmers competing in Oceanman Maldives, with the highest number of swimmers, 38, from both Malaysia and Russia. Indonesia and India have 31 swimmers each who are participating, with 20 swimmers from Thailand.

The best 10 swimmers from each age category in the event will qualify for the Oceanman World Championship. This is an yearly competition where qualification is needed to compete. The best three swimmers from the entire race and the best three swimmers from each age category will win medals and trophies.

The competition is being endorsed by Visit Maldives and will include Maldivian tourism branding.

Oceanman Global was introduced 10 years ago and is the first open water swimming competition as a world franchise. These franchise events are held in 26 different nations yearly. There are 38 races that are held, with around 1,500 - 2,000 swimmers per race.

Competition organizers Swim Maldives is an association that works to promote swimming in Maldives. The association hosts activities for both professional and recreational swimmers.