16th Kastellorizo-Kaş Swim Event to be held at weekend

ANTALYA

Some 350 athletes from 16 countries will strike out in the 16th Kastellorizo-Kaş Open Water Swim Event, also known as “one race in two countries.”

The seven-kilometer race will start on June 26 at 9 a.m. from Kastellorizo and end in the southern province of Antalya’s Kaş district.

According to a press release by the event organizers, the registration for the race was over in just 12 hours.

Calling the race “one of the most important swimming contests between two countries and two continents,” the statement said, “The swimmers will strike out for peace and friendship.”

Kastellorizo is a six-kilometer long and three-kilometer wide Greek Island with an area of 9.2 kilometers in the Mediterranean Sea.

Kaş is one of the most beautiful sea locations in Türkiye, with tourism hubs such as Kaputaş and Patara beaches, Kekova, Kaleköy, Demre and the ancient cities of Antiphellos, Xanthos and Myra.

The Kastellorizo-Kaş Swimming Event is an international cross-border open water swimming contest which has been held annually in June since 2005.

It is part of the International Lycia Culture and Art Festival which has been held since late 1990s. The distance of the course is 7.1 kilometers.

The course record was set in 2019 by Nilay Erkal, a Turkish woman, with a time of 1 hour and 32 minutes.