Courtesy of Canah along the Danube River, Germany.
Romanian Avram Iancu continues on his stage swim of 2,860 km, forecasted to last 60 days, along the Danube River through Europe.
The 41-year-old librarian from Petrosani, Transylvania started his stage swim from Donaueschingen in the Black Forest in Germany. He is now heading into Day 6 as each day is a dynamically different replication of the day before.
Day 60 on August 18th
Iancu swam 20 km today, leaving the 1000 km milestone and arriving at the 981 km one. “This milestone is very important for me. From here on, I only have hundreds of kilometres to swim, and not thousands. The water is very still, wide and deep. It feels like everyday I need to put more and more effort. Yesterday I realised I neglected drinking enough water after my teammates pointed it out. I feel dehydrated. But I got another massage today and that really does make me feel a lot better.”
The distance traversed on the Danube from Day 1 to Day 60: 1,880 km
The distance remaining to be covered on the Danube: 980 km
Day 61 on August 19th
Today Iancu continued swimming through the Danube Gorge, an “extremely beautiful place” as he describes it. “Famous even before the Iron Gates dams were built due to the very intense currents on the Danube. But now that Romania built the Iron Gates I and II dams, the water is extremely still.” Today, there were plenty of boats showing tourists the beauty of the gorge, resulting in huge waves on the river, similar to the situation in Budapest.
“It was very hard, but also beautiful and interesting at the same time. I passed the rock sculpture of Decebalus, the last king of Dacia and a huge symbol for our nation. I received another warm welcome there and the media interviewed me again. I had a lot of pain in my arms again because of the huge waves, but I finally reached the 963 km milestone, swimming 18 km today. I have another 23 km left before I reach the dam, which I will hopefully pass tomorrow.”
The kayak paddler accompanying Iancu for the last 2000 km has now forged ahead wishing to finish the length of the Danube sooner. Iancu has now been joined by another paddler who will be by his side for the last 1000 km. “I am very happy to have the support of so many people, Romanians and sponsors.”
The distance traversed on the Danube from Day 1 to Day 61: 1,896 km
The distance remaining to be covered on the Danube: 964 km
Day 62 on August 20th
Iancu had his last fight with the Iron Gate I dam. “It has been so difficult. I got so much mental strength now finally moving beyond it. It has been a very strong opponent. Over the last 2.5 km, we had so much wind and huge waves. I had to make a lot of effort just to stay on the surface and not drown. But I finally passed this important stage. Tomorrow I will have to get ready for the last dam on the Danube, the Iron Gates II dam. There are another 80 km until I reach it. The water will be very still again, so I expect to continue making a huge effort for the next few days.”
The distance traversed on the Danube from Day 1 to Day 62: 1,917 km
The distance remaining to be covered on the Danube: 943 km
A report on his stage swims between Days 1-9 is posted here.
A report on his stage swims between Days 10-13 is posted here.
A report on his stage swim on Day 14 is posted here.
A report on his stage swims between Days 15-16 is posted here.
A report on his stage swim on Day 17 is posted here.
A report on his stage swim on Day 18 is posted here.
A report on his stage swims on Day 19-20 is posted here.
A report on his stage swims between Days 21-23 is posted here.
A report on his stage swims between Days 24-27 is posted here.
A report on his stage swim on Day 28 is posted here.
A report on his stage swims between Days 29-32 is posted here.
A report on his stage swims between Days 33-35 is posted here.
A report on his stage swims between Days 36-41 is posted here.
A report on his stage swims between Day 41-44 is posted here.
A report on his stage swims between Days 52-54 is posted here.
A report of his stage swims between Days 55-58 is posted here.
A report of his stage swims on Day 59 is posted here.
To follow Iancu on Facebook, visit here.
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