Bengisu Avcı (born 1996) is a Turkish

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

specializing in

open water swimming Open water swimming is a swimming discipline which takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, lakes, and rivers. Competitive open water swimming is governed by the International Swimming Federation, World Aquatics (formerly kno ...

. She is holder of the ''

Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming The Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming is a marathon swimming challenge consisting of three historically important swims: #The English Channel, between France and England #The Catalina Channel, between Catalina Island and the California mai ...

''. As of February 2024, she completed four of the Oceans Seven swims.

Sport career

Avcı started her swimming career at age six in the Ege University Swim Club. In 2011, she was admitted to the national team, where she was a member until 2015. She switched over to

marathon swimming Marathon swimming is a class of open water swimming defined by long distances, with being the unofficially held minimum distance. Routes are typically geographically based or buoy based. Geographical routes include crossings of channels an ...

with the recommendation of her coach in the Ege University Swim Club in 2013. In the beginning, she competed in the 3K and 5K, later in the 7.5K and 10K distances. She works as a swimming coach. In 2016, she swam within a Turkish group the distance from

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Capri Capri ( , ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. A popular resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, its natural beauty ...

Island in the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (, ; or ) , , , , is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenians, Tyrrhenian people identified with the Etruscans of Italy. Geography The sea is bounded by the islands of C ...

in Italy. In 2017, Avcı attempted to swim the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, which she had to give up after seven hours due to

hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...

in the water. On 3 August the next year, she swam the same course of from England to

Cap Gris-Nez Cap Gris-Nez is a cape located in Audinghen, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais département of northern France. Part of the Côte d'Opale, it is classified as a protected natural area. Its cliffs mark the closest point of France to Great Britain, ...

, France in a time of 11:29. She became the second Turkish woman and the youngest in Turkey. On 5-6 September 2022, she took up the Oceans Seven series by swimming the -long

Catalina Channel Santa Catalina Island (; ) often shortened to Catalina Island or Catalina, is a rocky island, part of the Channel Islands (California), Channel Islands, off the coast of Southern California in the Gulf of Santa Catalina. The island covers an ...

between Santa Catalina Island and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, United States in a time of 11:59 as the first Turkish woman. The next year, she swam around the

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Island,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States, also known as the 20 Bridges Swim. She was awarded the ''

'' by the

World Aquatics World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (; ), is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in List of water sports, water sports. It is one of several interna ...

. She became the first Turkish woman to receive this title. On 8 August 2023, in the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic, she swam the -long course between the historic ANZAC Cove and the island

Gökçeada Imbros (; ; ), officially Gökçeada () since 29 July 1970,Alexis Alexandris, "The Identity Issue of The Minorities in Greece And Turkey", in Hirschon, Renée (ed.), ''Crossing the Aegean: An Appraisal of the 1923 Compulsory Population Exchang ...

in the northern

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

together with Murat Öz in a time of 10:36. Also in August 2023, she swam the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...

between Europe and Africa. She completed the fourth swim of the Oceans Seven with the -long

Cook Strait Cook Strait () is a strait that separates the North Island, North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, ...

swim between New Zealand’s North and South Islands on 13 February 2024. For her fifth swim of the Oceans Seven series, she tried to cross the around -long Kaiwi Channel, also known as the Molokaʻi Channel, between the islands

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

and

Molokai Molokai or Molokai ( or ; Molokaʻi dialect: Morotaʻi ) is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its g ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, United States. On 13 May 2024, she started from Molokai Island in the evening hours, and swam through the night. Twelve hours into the swim, in the last hours before the finish, she repeatedly came into contact with

jellyfish Jellyfish, also known as sea jellies or simply jellies, are the #Life cycle, medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, which is a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animal ...

and pieces of moss. She initially ignored the burning from the contact, however, after it intensified, possibly as the result of a contact with a

man o' war Man o' War was a thoroughbred racehorse considered an all-time great. Man o' War (or capitalization variations thereof) may also refer to: Animals * Portuguese man o' war, a floating marine animal found in the Atlantic that resembles a jellyfish ...

, a jellyfish-like

siphonophore Siphonophorae (from Ancient Greek σίφων (siphōn), meaning "tube" and -φόρος (-phóros), meaning "bearing") is an order within Hydrozoa, a class of marine organisms within the phylum Cnidaria. According to the World Register of Marine ...

or with a

box jellyfish Box jellyfish (class Cubozoa) are cnidarian invertebrates distinguished by their box-like (i.e., cube-shaped) body. Some species of box jellyfish produce potent venom delivered by contact with their tentacles. Stings from some species, including ' ...

, she had to give up and get onto the escorting boat. It was reported that her health was in good condition. Avcı is nicknamed "Okyanus Kızı" ("Daughter of Ocean").

Personal life

Avcı was born to Hüseyin and Meserret Avcı in

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

in 1996. She studied

sports coaching An athletic coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction, and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''Coach'' is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the ...

in the Sports Science Faculty of

Ege University Ege University or Aegean University () is a public research university in Bornova, İzmir. It was founded in 1955 with the faculties of Medicine and Agriculture. It is the first university to start courses in İzmir and the fourth oldest unive ...

in İzmir.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avci, Bengisu 1996 births Living people Sportspeople from İzmir 21st-century Turkish sportswomen Turkish female long-distance swimmers Ege University alumni Turkish sports coaches English Channel swimmers Manhattan Island swimmers Cook Strait swimmers

Sport career

Personal life

See also

References