THOUSANDS TO COMPETE IN SUNDAY’S SWIM ACROSS CONTINENTS
Officials have seen overwhelming interest in Sunday’s Bosporus swim race in Istanbul, which gives participants a unique chance to swim between Asia and Europe. About 4,400 people applied for the race
THE 30TH edition of the Bosporus Cross-Continental Swimming Race will be held on Sunday in Istanbul’s famed waterway. Sponsored by top electronics brand Samsung, the race is unique as an event that takes place between two continents: Europe and Asia.
The race’s organizers said at a press conference on Friday that there was huge interest from around the world and that about 4,400 people applied to participate in the race. Only 2,400 were eligible ultimately and half of them will be foreigners.
Dubbed one of the best open-water swimming events, the race starts at 10:00 a.m. Participants will swim a route of 6.5 kilometers across the Bosporus, from Kanlıca shore on the Asian side to Kuruçeşme on the European side.
Swimmers from 55 countries will join the race that was introduced in 1989 with the participation of only 68 swimmers. Organizers said that applications were closed in only 14 minutes after they were open in January due to overwhelming demand. In the end, 2,400 were selected in qualifiers held earlier across Turkey. Organizers also said there was such a huge demand from Russia and Ukraine that they had to put a quota on the number of people applying from those countries. The majority of the applicants are men and their professions range from professional swimmers to academics and politicians and students.
Sergey Bubka, legendary Ukrainian pole-vaulter who broke multiple world re- cords, will also attend the event although he will not swim. Kirsty Conventy, a Zimbabwean Olympic swimmer and a record holder in professional swimming, will also attend the “Show Swim” section of the event that will be held on Saturday.
The cross-continental race has gained international renown since it was first organized by the Turkish National Olympic Committee in 1989. Last year, the World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) named the Bosporus course as the best in the world. And, in 2016, it was named “offering of the year.”
Last year, Russians took first place in both the men and women’s races. This is the second international swimming race in Istanbul this week. On Friday, the 34th edition of the International Princes’ Islands Swimming Championship kicked off at Kınalıada, one in a cluster of nine islands off the Marmara Sea shore of Istanbul. Organized by the Turkish Swimming Federation, the two-day event hosts 600 professional swimmers from eight countries. Teams from Turkey, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia and Iran compete in the event. The competition in 50-meter, 100-meter and 400-meter freestyle, 100-meter breaststroke, 100-meter butterfly, 100-meter backstroke and 200-meter medley categories, offers the title of “prince” and “princess” to the winners in men’s and women’s categories respectively, along with monetary prizes.