Professor Dr. Raha Akhavan Tabatabaei is an Iranian open water swimmer who specializes in Operations Management & Business Analytics at the Sabanci Business School in Istanbul, Turkey.

When she is on dryland.

But when she jumps in the open water, she has become a prolific marathon swimmer, taking on different challenges around the world:

• In 2019, she was part of Team Channel Swim, a four-person relay across the English Channel with Deniz Kayadelen, Emre Deliveli, and Darren Watson
• In 2019, she was part of the Out of our Comfort Zone English Channel relay with Emre Deliveli, Yasemin Bagana, and Deniz Kayadelen in 11 hours 40 minutes
• In 2019, se was part of the Mad Turks relay with Emre Deliveli, Yasemin Bagana and Deniz Kayadelen, the first Turkish team to complete a 35 km North Channel relay
• In 2021, she completed a 32.3 km crossing of the Catalina Channel in 15 hours 4 minutes, the first female from Iran to complete a Catalina Channel crossing
• In 2022, she was the first bioprene female from Iran to swim 14.4 km across the Strait of Gibraltar, in 5 hours 46 minutes
• In 2023, she completed the 20 Bridges Swim around Manhattan Island, dedicating her 45.9 km circumnavigation swim to the brave women of Iran, fighting for their freedom.

https://youtu.be/7dGgjhcDlCA

https://youtu.be/dyJSC9hXkww

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