Bengisu Avic does cold water swimming on the International Winter Swimming Association circuit, raced at the IISA 1st European Ice Swimming Championship, represented her native country of Turkey from the 200m to 10 km events at the LEN Cup and European Junior Championships between 2011 and 2015, and has completed a number of channel swims:
- 2018: fastest Turkish women to cross the 33.5 km English Channel in 11 hours 29 minutes
- 2022: first Turkish woman to cross the 32.3 km Catalina Channel in 11 hours 59 minutes
- 2023: set a Turkish national record in crossing the 14.4 km Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco in 3 hours 24 minutes
- 2023: became the first Turkish women to achieve the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming with a 45.9 km 20 Bridges swim around Manhattan Island in 8 hours 19 minutes
The 27-year-old coach from İzmir on the Aegean Sea has more travel plans as she plans to complete the Oceans Seven with crossings of the cold 35 km North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland, the rough 42 km Molokai Channel in Hawaii, and the always tricky 19.5 km Tsugaru Channel in northern Japan.
To keep up with her travel plans, follow her on Instagram @bengisuavic.
© Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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