The Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim ( tr, Boğaziçi Kıtalararası Yüzme Yarışı) is an annual

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. The beginning of the modern age of open water swimming is sometimes taken to be May 3, 1810, when Lord Byron swam s ...

event between the continents

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

held annually at Bosphorus,

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, Turkey. Established in 1989, the event is organized by the

Turkish Olympic Committee Turkish National Olympic Committee (TNOC) ( tr, Türkiye Milli Olimpiyat Komitesi (TMOK)) is the governing Olympic body of Turkey. It is based in Istanbul. History As one of the oldest National Olympic Committees in the world, TNOC was founded o ...

and sponsored by

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

History

The event was held for the first time on July 23, 1989 and 64 men and 4 women took part. The next year, the course's start was relocated from

Çubuklu Çubuklu is a neighbourhood in Beykoz district on the Anatolian side of the Bosphorus in İstanbul, Turkey. It was called Katangion (Κατάγγιον in Greek) in Byzantine times when it was a recreational area. During the Ottoman era, some ...

Kanlıca Kanlıca is a neighbourhood on the Asian side of the Bosphorus strait, in the Beykoz district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. It is known for a yogurt sprinkled with caster sugar, which is sold in local cafés, ibcluding thİsmailağa Kahvesiwhich h ...

, extending the distance to . In 1992, the event became international with the participation of 22 swimmers from

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and two from the United States. The course record was set in 2006 by Turkish swimmers Alişan Alaşlı in the men's category with 39:07.11 and Beren Kayrak in the women's category with 40:50.35. Since 2010, every swimmer completing the course receives a certificate titled "Intercontinental Swimmer".

Notable swimmers

Many notable swimmers from all over the world have entered the event during its history. In 2012, American swimmer

Mark Spitz Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is an American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion. He was the most successful athlete at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, winning seven gold medals, each in world-record ti ...

, nine-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in seven events, was a guest, and performed shows. In 2013, Australian Olympic gold medalist swimmer

Ian Thorpe Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...

was also a competitor. Turkish woman Fatma Nazan Göğen has taken part every year since its beginning in 1989. Turkish Levent Aksüt has been the oldest swimmer so far at the age of 85. Local sportsman Hasan Eskioğlu holds the record for the most victories at ten times, of which seven were in a row.

Participation

More than 2,000 swimmers, including over 500 females with half of them being foreigners, from over 50 countries participate at the event. As of 2019, the number of foreign swimmers is limited to 1,200, and only up to 350 are permitted to participate from each country. Rising popularity of the race, especially in Russia and Ukraine, led to a huge rush for slots, with whole international quota being filled in less than an hour after the start of registration in January. There are 12 age categories for each gender, from the age of 14 to 70 and over.

Course

The route starts at the Pier of

, north of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, in the

n part of Istanbul, runs southwards, and finishes at Cemil Topuzlu Park in

Kuruçeşme Kuruçeşme is a neighborhood in Beşiktaş ilçe (district) of İstanbul, Turkey. It is on the European side of Bosphorous between the neighborhoods of Ortaköy and Arnavutköy. Historically, the neighborhood was called by various names such a ...

, north of the

Bosphorus Bridge The Bosphorus Bridge ( tr, Boğaziçi Köprüsü), known officially as the 15 July Martyrs Bridge ( tr, 15 Temmuz Şehitler Köprüsü) and unofficially as the First Bridge ( tr, Birinci Köprü), is one of the three suspension bridges spanning ...

, in the

an part of the city. Hence, the participants swim downstream along the dominant surface current of the Bosphorus. The swimmers are advised to stay in the middle of the strait, to avoid reverse currents that often form in coves along the shores, using coastal landmarks for navigation, and turning to European shore only after passing

Galatasaray Islet The Galatasaray Islet ( tr, Galatasaray Adası) is a small island on the Bosphorus strait off Kuruçeşme neighbourhood in Istanbul, Turkey, owned by Galatasaray Sports Club. Being situated just north of the Bosphorus Bridge with its view of the ...

. Those who miss the finish and are carried by the current below the

Bosphorus bridge The Bosphorus Bridge ( tr, Boğaziçi Köprüsü), known officially as the 15 July Martyrs Bridge ( tr, 15 Temmuz Şehitler Köprüsü) and unofficially as the First Bridge ( tr, Birinci Köprü), is one of the three suspension bridges spanning ...

are disqualified and must enter lifeguards’ boats. Days before the race, introductory boat tours along the route are offered to the contestants, with instruction in Turkish, English and Russian.

Gallery

File:BosphorusSwim2016 (2).jpg, Start of the 2016 Swim from a passenger ferry boat at

Pier. File:BosphorusSwim2016 (6).jpg, Pack of swimmers at the 2016 Swim. File:BosphorusSwim2016 (28).jpg, Pack of swimmers at the 2016 Swim. File:BosphorusSwim2016 (36).jpg, Finish phase of the 2016 Swim at Kuruçeşme. File:BosphorusSwim2016 (37).jpg, Finish of the 2016 Swim at Kuruçeşme Cemil Topuzlu Park. File:BosphorusSwim2016 (25).jpg, Scoreboard for women's age group 10-24 at the 2016 Swim. File:BosphorusSwim2016 (24).jpg, Scoreboard for men's age group 70+ at the 2016 Swim. File:BosphorusSwim2016 (19).jpg, A competitor after finish at the 2016 Swim. File:BosphorusSwim2016 (41).jpg, Medalists on the podium at the 2016 Swim seen on the mega screen.

References

External links

Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race at Turkish Olympic Committee
{{commons category, Bosphorus Cross Continental Swim Swimming competitions in Turkey Open water swimming competitions 1989 establishments in Turkey Annual sporting events in Turkey Recurring sporting events established in 1989 Sport in Istanbul Bosphorus Beykoz Beşiktaş