Domenico Pellegrino, President of the C.N.S.V., announced the annual open water swimming race in the Strait of Messina, a classic since 1954.

Limited to 100 swimmers, the participants face 6-knot tidal currents for the ride of their lives. The Strait of Messina (Stretto di Messina in Italian, Strittu di Missina in Sicilian or the Messina Strait) is the narrow waterway between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southern tip of Calabria in southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea with the Ionian Sea within the central Mediterranean Sea.

At its narrowest point, it measures 3.1 km (1.9 miles) in width, though near the town of Messina the width is some 5.1 km (3.2 miles) with a maximum depth is 250 meters (830 feet).

For more information, visit www.traversatadellostretto.it.

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