Nearly 40 years ago, American Lynne Cox swam from island of Little Diomede in Alaska to Big Diomede, then part of the Soviet Union, in 2 hours 6 minutes. In the midst of swirling currents where the water temperature averaged 4°C, Cox saw her crossing as a way to open the U.S.-Soviet border for the first time in 48 years.
Her groundbreaking 3.54 km swim attracted global media attention and was the inspiration behind the contemporary cold water and ice swimming communities.
The historical relevance of Cox’s swim left an indelible mark on the minds of many, including those in the Chukotka region in Russia where the 5th Bering Strait Festival was held this week.
The Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Tourism Board wants to help Russian and foreign tour operators, visitors, and swimmers cross the Bering Strait.
Yulia Boykova, Deputy Director, Oleg Dokuchaev, Vice President of the Russian Winter Swimming Federation, Guinness World Record holder and IISA representative Ger Kennedy (56, Ireland, IISA bio here) Davaadorzh Shagdarsuren, multiple World Winter Swimming Championships medalist, Paolo Venturini, cold-weather ultramarathon runner, Vadim Mamontov, founder of Russia Discovery, Alexander Yendaltsev, founder of Territory 87, Vladimir Bystrykh, General Director of Kutkh Travel, and Leonid Agafonov of the Ministry for the Development of Russia Far East held a roundtable discussion in the hopes of making transcontinental journeys through Chukotka on July 18th. Other delegates from China and Mongolia also participated in the 500m and 4 km swims [see photos below].
After long complex international and Russian domestic flights from his native Dublin, Kennedy eventually reached Anadyr in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of Russia to attend the 5th Bering Strait Festival. He reports on their talks and swims, “We swam twice as part of the Festival: a 500m demonstration swim in Anadyr Harbour and a 4 km swim across the bay. The water temperature was between 8–10°C, air temperature was 10°C, and we saw lots of beluga whales along the way.
As part of the Bering Strait Festival’s business program, which includes discussing new initiatives for transcontinental expeditions, I presented my proposed swim in 2027 from Russia to the USA via Ratmanov Island (or Big Diomede Island) to Krusenstern Island (or Little Diomede Island). These are the two rocky landmasses of the Diomede Islands, located in the middle of the Bering Strait in celebration of the 40th Jubilee year since Lynne Cox achieved this previously-thought impossible route in 1987.
Oleg Dokuchaev and Leonid Agafonov, plus the admistrating team, accepted my proposal and announced it on stage to all festival attendees. The administrative process will start on August 1st 2026 at the highest level of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This process will take up to 9 months.”
And so the planning and process begins.
The participants were able to feast on walrus meat dishes from the Chukotka region. Kennedy [shown above on photo on right, assisting the Chinese swimmers] described the walrus meat, “The walrus steak has a strong flavor. The meat is usually slow-cooked or boiled for hours in a slow cooker, which tenderizes the stringy meat and renders a beef-like, slightly liverish flavor. And the walrus tusks carvings [shown below] are incredible.”
© 2026 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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