After 53 hours [see above chart] since he started swimming from the island of Corsica, 27-year-old actor Noam Yaron (@noamyaron) has hit some serious navigational challenges and the weather does not look good for the remainder of his Odyssée Méditerranée, an expected 3-day non-stop assisted marathon swim…that may turn into a 4-day swim.
He has begun to hallucinate, even before he has reached halfway, although he is reportedly doing well physically.
After 28 hours 42 minutes at the beginning of Day 2 [see chart above] Yaron was making good progress on the Odyssée Méditerranée, but his good fortune started to turn over the last several hours.
At the 75 km mark, Yaron reported, “I observed whales, dolphins, stingrays, turtles and many other majestic animals. It was one of my goals during this crossing: discover biodiversity. They remind me why I swim and give me that crazy energy to keep going. [But] the next few hours are going to be rough, looks like the wind is picking up and not in a good way.”
But his swim continues. While he has enjoyed relatively calm conditions so far, his good fortune will not continue for too much longer.
Day 3
Day 3 on multi-day swims are always a difficult challenge. The swimmer has entered into serious sleep deprivation, as is the support crew onboard his escort boat. Fatigue, soreness, discomfort, pain, worry, and stress all become a gradually larger part of the equation. Every arm stroke forward, every subsequent breath, every next feeding stop becomes more difficult than the strokes, breathes, and stop in the past.
With the conditions gradually worsening, this is the time that Yaron had long prepared for, both mentally and physically. It is the time with two nights and three days of swimming – and much more to go – that he must dig deep and his support crew must be extremely diligent in keeping him safe and motivated to continue swimming.
But at some point, major decisions have to be made.
When does safety dictate that Yaron should be pulled?
How long must he swim to achieve his primary objectives of his Sports for Nature campaign to raise awareness about water preservation and biodiversity protection in the Pelagos Marine Protected Area?
If he does not reach Monaco, his athletic goal, he is still swimming for a greater cause. How far is far enough?
Yaron is currently swimming through the Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals, a Marine Protected Area that covers 84,000 square kilometers between Toulon (French Riviera), Capo Falcone (western Sardinia), Capo Ferro (eastern Sardinia) and Fosso Chiarone (Tuscany).
Yaron explained before the start, “Since the announcement of the challenge, our campaigned reached over 8.5 million people around the world. We are fortunate to have big organization such as IUCN and Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco and other experts in France, Monaco, and Italy to build a solid campaign with the simple but crucial mission of encouraging the 3 countries that govern the Pelagos sanctuary to each preserve 10% (highly or fully) of the area to achieve the objective of the scientific call 30×30 set by the UN.
We inspire the world to be a better place.”
Does he have enough strength and force of will to reach Monaco after 53 hours in the water – and a very long way yet to go that may require him to swim until Tuesday, potentially a 4+ day swim?
We shall see.
Noam Yaron, The Swimmer and The Actor
Yaron’s backstory is very unusual for a marathon swimmer. He is an actor who has appeared on TV, theaters, billboards, posters in Switzerland and performed in commercials of major brands such as UBS, Coca Cola, M&M’s, Fanta, and Paco Rabanne.
Years ago after an audition in Geneva, he was invited to train in Los Angeles at Universal Studios with actors from the Disney Channel when he decided to pursue a serious acting career.
In 2020, Yaron was selected by the International Olympic Committee to be the Master of Ceremonies at the Youth Olympic Games. During the COVID pandemic, he produced a weekly web series named Bon On Fait Quoi, a fictional series where he performed six different characters for which he was nominated for the Content Creatives Incubator in Cannes.
In addition to his Sports for Nature campaign, the multi-lingual (French, Hebrew, English) Yaron produced a television series named THE CLUE that was launched with a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. His online persona is Chico Nono & Co.
In 2014, he organized Swimming by Night in Morges, a charity swim where relay teams swam for 12 hours by night to raise money and awareness for people suffering from blindness. The donations supported the International Guide Dog Federation.
Will Yaron be able to see his finish in Monaco?
Stay tuned for updates. For more information, visit www.calvi-monaco.com.
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