From Corsica To Near Monaco – How Noam Yaron Swam 102 Hours

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27-year-old Swiss swimmer Noam Yaron (@noamyaron) pushed himself to the limit with a hard-working crew over 97 hours from Calvi in Corsica to Monaco on a 180 km Odyssée Méditerranée assisted cross-border swim. Yaron has over 6.1 million followers on his social media platforms where he raises awareness of the importance of protecting the Mediterranean Sea.

He began in Calvi at 7:51 am on Monday, August 10th and is now approaching Monaco at 1:45 pm on Friday, August 15th, without once exiting the sea.

Update #1: Yaron was pulled from the water and is now resting comfortably in a local hospital. He will hold a press conference on Saturday, August 16th at 4:30 pm at the Le Méridien Beach Plaza Monaco Hotel.

Update #2: Yaron remains in a hospital recovering.

Issues of the Odyssée Méditerranée

Weather: Fortunately, Yaron had the near perfect weather window, starting on Monday morning at 8 am until the finish on Friday morning at

Salinity: His terribly irritated and inflamed salt water tongue was mitigated by taking cortisone pills.

4 Night / 5 Days in the Water: He addressed the physical effort behind his swim by taking micro naps, and using navigation lines and a swim streamer

His support crew included crew chief Caroline Caillet, Marine Dufour, Mireille Miller, Zélya Gilliard, Charlotte Fighera, Mathilde Fischer, Hugo Beltrami, Romain Dancre, skipper Bernard Gianola, Michel Pierre Hauzeur, Dominique Glauser, Arnaud Bohren, Lena Narbel, coach Markus Marthaler, and for research on the secondary boat Annick Yaron, Hélène Valentine Ferreira Martins, Stéphanie Pierre, Maxime Mergalet, Jean Michel Cambarot, and Marine Orsatti.

For more information and additional updates on his non-contiguous, non-continuous assisted cross-border stage swim attempt in the Mediterranean Sea, visit www.calvi-monaco.com and follow his press conference tomorrow.

Latest information from the escort boat before being pulled after 2 pm local time today: “We would like to inform you that Noam is being closely monitored by our team and is progressing at his own pace. He is continuing his adventure with determination, defending nature and raising public awareness in front of the media waiting for him on the beach of the Le Méridien Beach Plaza Hotel.”

The Last 10 Hours

The swim tracker above captures the last 10 hours of Yaron’s swim in which he progressed only 2 kilometers. The last part of the tracker shows where Yaron was finally placed in his escort boat and sped off to shore. For more information on Yaron’s course tracker, visit here courtesy of Evan Morrison of Marathon Swimmers Federation.

On the other side of the European continent on same day at roughly the same time, two-time Polish Olympian Karolina Szczepaniak was attempting to swim 172 km across the Baltic Sea from her native Poland to the Swedish island of Öland. Her last 10 hours of her swim were also painfully slow where it sounded like she was crying during her live webcast. For more information on her course tracker, visit here courtesy of Morrison.

Both Yaron and Szczepaniak were seeking a Guinness World Record for the Longest Wetsuit Swim.

2025 Odyssée Méditerranée Verification Information

Summary

On 11 August 2025 at 7:51 am, Noam Yaron swam from Corsica, France to the nearshore waters of Monaco across the Mediterranean Sea. He was involuntarily pulled from the water at 2:16 pm on 15 August 2025 within 2 km of the shore of Monaco. Yaron swam for 102 hours 24 minutes (over the course of 4 days 6 hours 24 minutes), completing a total swimming distance of 191 km.

Swimmer

Yaron is a 29-year-old Swiss adventurer has competed in numerous open water swimming competitions and solo swims including

75 km crossing of Lake Geneva in 19 hours 53 minutes in 2021
Odyssée des Lacs stage swim across the 5 largest lakes in Switzerland in a cumulative time of 60 hours 40 minutes covering 188 km over 11 days in 2022
attempted the first 171 km Odyssée Méditerranée from Corsica to Monaco that was aborted due to rough, unsafe conditions on 23 August 2024 after 103 km and 48 hours spent in the Mediterranean Sea.

Equipment

During the swim, Yaron used the following equipment:

wore a full-body wetsuit for the entire distance
used FORM swim goggles for the entire distance
used a swim cap for the entire distance
Sharkbanz to deter sharks
occasionally wore gloves and booties and hoodies when jellyfish swarms were encountered
occasionally used Shokz MP3 waterproof audio device
occasionally used an anti-jellyfish net at the front of his primary escort boat to protect from jellyfish and to collect plastics
swam behind his primary escort boat with one long navigation line that doubled up so it appears that he was swimming between two long navigation lane lines
swam either beside or over an underwater swim streamer that occasionally rose to the surface and was lit in low-light or night hours
single use of an emergency blanket
use of a sun hat before exiting the water

Feat & Testimonials from Observers

His observers were all present on two different escort boats in close proximity to Yaron throughout his swim from start to finish. His Observer Team was led by Caroline Caillet, located on escort boat 1, and included

Zélya Gilliard, located on escort boat 1
Marine Dufour, located on escort boat 1
Arnaud Bohren, located on escort boat 1
MP Hauzeur, located on escort boat 1
Dominique Glauser, located on escort boat 1
Maxime Mergalet, located on escort boat 2
Mireille Miller, located on escort boat 1

While all the members of the entire Observer Team were not all awake throughout the entire swim, several of them were awake and observing Yaron at all times throughout the swim. The Observer Team confirmed the following:

Yaron completed the world’s longest non-stop continuous sea swim by duration: 4 days 6 hours 24 minutes in the Mediterranean Sea without assistance or artificial propulsion.
Yaron started at 7:51 am on 11 August and finished at 2:16 pm on 15 August 2025 when he was pulled from the water on orders of the doctors due to serious concerns for his health.
Yaron never got out of the water for any reason.
Yaron never touched his two escort boats.
Yaron was never touched by any support crew members.
Yaron was never pulled forward in any way by a rope or other assistance.

Post-Swim

Immediately after his swim, Yaron was taken to the Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace Hospital in Monaco where he was hospitalized for 8 days and then transferred for 1 day at the CHUV Hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland to recover from the unprecedented feat of endurance and severe injuries, including the following:

deep second-degree burns affecting 15% of his body
oxygen saturation dropped to 77% due to pulmonary edema
approximately 95% of his lungs filled with fluid

Comparative Swims

While all the following individuals achieved awe-inspiring Guinness World Record open water swims, Yaron spent the greatest amount of hours swimming continuously than anyone else in history: 4 days 6 hours 24 minutes – or 102 hours and 24 minutes.

Charles Zimmy Zibelman of the USA swam 233 km in 148 hours down the Hudson River in New York from Albany to Manhattan Island in August 1937. He reportedly slept on occasion.
Martin Strel of swam 504.5 km in 84 hours downstream in the Danube River from Austria to Hungary in July 2001.
Ricardo Hoffman of swam 481 km down the Paraná River in Argentina from Corriente to Santa Elena in 84 hours 37 minutes between 3-6 March 1981.
Sarah Thomas of the USA swam 168.3 km across Lake Champlain in New York in 67 hours 16 minutes between 7-10 August 2017.
Matthieu Bonne of swam 129.7 km in the Gulf of Corinth in 60 hours 55 minutes between 31 August and 2 September 2024.
Vicki Keith of Canada swam 95 km in Lake Ontario in 56 hours 10 minutes between 5-7 August 1987.
Ross Edgley of Great Britain swam 510 km in a wetsuit downstream in the Yukon River in western Canada in 54 hours 45 minutes between 17-19 June 2024.
Sarah Thomas of the USA swam 132 km across the English Channel in 54 hours 10 minutes between 15-17 September 2019.
Neil Agius of Malta swam 142.3 km around the islands of Malta in 60 hours 35 minutes between 21-23 September 2024 to set the record for the longest unassisted sea swim in a current-neutral zone.
Veljko Rogošić of Yugoslavia swam 194 km in the Adriatic Sea in 50 hours 10 minutes between 29-31 August 2006.
Joe Zemaitis of the USA swam 112 km in Roosevelt Lake in Arizona in 47 hours 23 minutes between 1-3 November 2020.
For more details of these swimmers and the listed swims, visit Marathon Swimmers Federation here

Background

Odyssée Méditerranée from Corsica to Monaco websites:

https://www.calvi-monaco.com/ in French
https://www.calvi-monaco.com/en in English

Support Team Members

Yaron’s support team included 45 individuals:

20 people were on his two escort boats who collectively witnessed his entire swim. Both boats were physically located within eyesight of Yaron.
14 people were stationed in Monaco.
11 people provided support from other locations before, during, and after the swim.

The team included the following individuals (job titles included):

Noam Yaron, swimmer, located behind escort boat 1
Caroline Caillet, Project Manager and Head Observer, located on escort boat 1
Zélya Gilliard, Communications & Logistics Assistant and Assistant Observer, located on escort boat 1
Marine Dufour, Breaks & Supplies Manager and Assistant Observer, located on escort boat 1
Arnaud Bohren, Operations Assistant and Assistant Observer, located on escort boat 1
Jessica Brühlart, Arrival Manager, in Monaco for the arrival
Charlotte Fighera, Head of Communication, located on escort boat 1
Mathilde Fischer, Communication Assistant, located on escort boat 1
Chloé Gaillard, Communication Coordinator, in Monaco for the arrival
Elodie Bonnin, PR Coordinator, working remotely
Laury Mallevaey, PR Coordinator, working remotely and in Monaco for the arrival
Hélène V.F. Martins, PR Coordinator & eDNA, located on escort boat 2
Florence Tercier, Campaign Strategy Advisor & Master of Ceremony, located in Monaco for the arrival
Stéphanie Pierre, Scientific Director (CSIL), located on escort boat 2
Pierre Fehlmann, Technical Manager, responsible for preparation before the swim
Paul Abeillé, Weather Previsionist, working remotely with regularly calls with the 3 skippers on escort boat 1
Pierre Yves Guillerm, Weather Previsionist, working remotely with regularly calls with the 3 skippers on escort boat 1
Bernard Gianola, Skipper & Engineer, located on escort boat 1
MP Hauzeur, Helmsman and Assistant Observer, located on escort boat 1
Dominique Glauser, Helsman and Assistant Observer, located on escort boat 1
Jean-Michel Cambarot, Skipper, located on escort boat 2
Maxime Mergalet, Helmsman & Photographer and Assistant Observer, located on escort boat 2
Lena Narbel, Head Cook, located on escort boat 1
Annick Yaron, Food and Beverage Manager, located on escort boat 2
Sabri Ben Hassen, Dronist and Assistant Observer, located in Monaco for the arrival
Nathan Marchal, Dronist and Assistant Observer, located In Monaco for the arrival
Olivier Bourquin, Nutrition Expert, responsible for preparation before the swim
Alexandre Bosson, Aromatherapy Manager, responsible for preparation before the swim
Benoît Martin, Recovery Manager, responsible for preparation before the swim
Vincent Chollet, Sport Doctor, working remotely with ongoing contact by phone
Mattia Garrone, Personal Trainer, responsible for preparation before the swim
Jan Matiaska, Physical Prep Manager, responsible for preparation before the swim
Markus Marthaler, Swim Coach, responsible for preparation before the swim
Hugo Beltrami, Filmmaker, located on escort boat 1
Marine Orsatti, Filmmaker, located on escort boat 2
Romain Dancre, Filmmaker, located on escort boat 1
David Yaron, Logistics, located in Monaco for the arrival
Liam Yaron, Logistics, located in Monaco for the arrival
Vera Fernandes, Logistics, located in Monaco for the arrival
José de Paz, Logistics, located in Monaco for the arrival
Manu de Paz, Logistics, located in Monaco for the arrival
Laura Cruchon, Logistics, located in Monaco for the arrival
Mireille Miller, Breaks & Supplies Officer and Assistant Observer, located on escort boat 1
Alice Bougault, Support Boat and Assistant Observer, responsible for an extra safety boat in Monaco for the arrival as reserve
Christophe Anselmo, Support Boat and Assistant Observer, responsible for an extra safety boat in Monaco for the arrival
Chris Morgan, World Open Water Swimming Federation, responsible for verification support working remotely via WhatsApp
Steven Munatones, World Open Water Swimming Federation, responsible for verification support working remotely via WhatsApp

Swim Details

Category: Assisted Continuous Point-to-Point Sea Swim
Course: Point-to-point sea swim from Corsica, France to Monaco in the Mediterranean Sea
Distance: 191.17 km
Swim Time: 4 days 6 hours 24 minutes
Start (local): 11 August 2025, 7:51 AM (GMT +1)
Start (DMS): 42.566432° N, 8.759475° E
Finish (local): 15 August 2025, 2:16 PM (GMT +1)
Finish (DMS): 43° 44′ 15,36″ N 7º 27′ 35,64″ E
Water Temperature: 26 – 27°C
Air Temperature: 25 – 27°C

Observer Log

The hourly Observer Log was created and maintained by Caroline Caillet with the assistance of Charlotte Fighera, Bernard Gianola, and Marine Dufour on the escort boats. Verification was confirmed remotely by Chris Morgan and Steven Munatones of the World Open Water Swimming Federation.
The link to the detailed Observer Log is here.

Testimonials

Testimonials that the Observer Log is accurate and complete were provided by Michel Pierre Hauzer, Charlotte Fighera, Marine Dufour, Bernard Gianola, and Dominique Glauser – and confirmed in real time by Chris Morgan and Steven Munatones.

Swim Finish (video)

Due to health and safety concerns, Yaron’s doctor and support team on escort boat 1 ordered him out of the water where he was immediately taken to a local hospital. Yaron exiting the water, video here.

Swim Photos

Photos with time stamps are posted here and below, taken between 11 – 15 August 2025.