2,400 swimmers to cross Istanbul’s Bosphorus in cross-continental swimming race

ISTANBUL

Some 2,400 swimmers from 50 countries will take part in the 30th Samsung Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race to be held on July 22.

Participants will swim the course, which will start at Kanlıca pier on the Asian side and end 6.5 kilometers later in front of Kuruçeşme Cemil Topuzlu Park on the European side.

According to a statement made by Samsung, a total of 4,430 people have applied to take part in this year’s race. Of this figure, 3,269 are men and 1,161 are women, the statement said. After eliminations, 2,400 swimmers have earned the right to participate in the competition.

The race has been organized by the Turkish Olympic Committee (TOC) since 1989. It is the world’s only intercontinental swimming competition.

In this year’s competition, Russian swimmers showed the highest interest from abroad. They were followed by Ukranian, British, and American swimmers.

Over the years, the race has become a true international brand. In 2016, the World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) declared it to be the World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year.

The race has been described on the WOWSA website as follows: “Swimming between continents is something that few people in the world rarely have an opportunity to do. But the Samsung Bosphorus Cross Continental Swim is excellently organized to offer this dramatic possibility to thousands of people every year.”