Swimmers unite continents for 34th time

Some 2400 swimmers from the five continents of the world united the Asian and European continents with their performances on Sunday, August 21 at the Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race. For the 34th time, Istanbul brought together international swimmers from around the world in the unique Bosphorus, demonstrating the unifying power of sport.

The race was organized by the Turkish Olympic Committee (TOC), coordinated with the Governorship of Istanbul and supported by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. 26 public institutions and several commercial partners also contributed to the race, held under the theme of “Sports for Everyone”. The 2441 swimmers, 1243 locals and 1198 internationals, 700 women and 1741 men, from five continents, swam from Asia to Europe, becoming “Cross-Continental Swimmers” at the Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race.

Burcunaz Narin completed the challenging 6.5km course, which starts from Kanlıca Pier in Asia and ends at Kuruçeşme Cemil Topuzlu Park in Europe, with a time of 0:48:13 to place 1st among the women swimmers. Doğukan Ulaç clocked 0:48:13 to win a place at the top of the podium among the men.

Turkish Youth and Sports Minister Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu, Deputy Governor of Istanbul Niyazi Erten, TOC President Prof. Uğur Erdener, International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member and Austrian Olympic Committee President Karl Stoss, IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper, and many guests were in attendance, to support the participants and sharing their excitement.

”The Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race has been one of the best examples of the unifying power of sports for 34 years, bringing together swimmers from around the world in Istanbul’s unique Bosphorus with the theme of ‘Sports for Everyone’. Today’s millions of swimming strokes completed in the Bosphorus all count towards the spread of sports culture in our country and all increase the sporting reputation of our country throughout the world. I congratulate each of our participants wholeheartedly and thank particularly the Youth and Sports Ministry, Governorship of Istanbul, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, and all our public institutions, sponsors and volunteers, for their contribution to our organization.” Prof. Uğur Erdener said.

Nihat Usta, Vice President of TOC and Chair of the Bosphorus Race Organization Committee, said, “The Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race brought together swimmers from around the world and their families for the 34th time in the crossroads of cultures, İstanbul. Over 2400 swimmers pushed their limits by swimming in the challenging course of the Bosphorus. We took great pride in enabling them to swim safely and with pleasure. I congratulate all the “Cross-Continental Swimmers’ who participated in our race and thank everyone who contributed to this wonderful event”.