BOSPORUS TURNS INTO A HUGE POOL AS THOUSANDS OF SWIMMERS RACE
WHAT better way to spend a scorching Sunday than jumping into the cool waters of the Bosporus? Thousands took this rare chance when Istanbul’s famed waterway opened for swimmers to make their way between Asian and European sides of the city. The 30th edition of the Bosporus Cross-Continental Swim sponsored by Samsung saw some 2,400 swimmers splashing into the waterway – from people who came from as far as the United States to an 89-year-old resident of Istanbul.
DUBBED one of the best open-water swimming events in the world, the race started at 10 a.m. with swimmers on a pontoon leaping into Bosporus near the seaside district of Kanlıca on the city’s Asian side. Amateurs indulged in the scenery, while professionals were more focused on the tough 6.5-kilometer route that ended in Kuruçeşme, a few kilometers away from the July 15 Martyrs Bridge.
The Bosporus is not a safe place to swim freely as its busy maritime traffic sees dozens of oil tankers, cargo ships and ferries navigating their way in this narrow strait every day. It was closed to maritime traffic for the duration of the race. Although the current facilitated the race, swimmers had a hard time pinpointing their destination as some failed to navigate effectively. Rescue boats accompanied swimmers in case of emergencies.
About 4,400 people applied to participate in the race, but only 2,400 were chosen by the organizers. Half of the participants were foreigners, but the winners were Turks. Doğukan Ulaç from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus won the men’s category by completing the course in 46 minutes and 58 seconds. In women’s, Hilal Zeynep Saraç finished the race in 50 minutes and 30 seconds.
“I don’t know how I came first,” Saraç said after finishing the race, pointing out the difficulty of navigation. “I was scared at first because of the big waves. I found myself in a current pushing me back,” she spoke of other difficulties she faced.
“This was a good chance for training before Denmark,” Saraç, a professional swimmer who will join a swimming competition with the Turkish national swimming team in that country in August, said.
Swimmers from 55 countries joined the race that was introduced in 1989 with the participation of only 68 swimmers. In the men’s category, U.S. swimmer Alexander Kostich came in third, while Amy Dantzler finished third in the women’s category. Second places in both categories were secured by Turkish nationals. The majority of the racers were men, and their professions ranged from professional swimmers to academics, politicians and students. The organizers say there was an overwhelming demand that saw the registration process closed in less than half an hour as foreign swimmers grabbed all the available spots. Russian and Ukrainian swimmers were among majority of the applicants.
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 the best in the world; and in 2016, it was named “offering of the year.”