Spanish swimmer Ezequiel Rius Achaval (aka Nadador del Mar) completed the 18.1 km Rhodes – Marmaris Crossing from Greece to Turkey in 5 hours 39 minutes. He tells the story of the race.
“On October 14the, the day before the crossing, a severe storm hit Rhodes and the surrounding region, bringing heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds. It was a day of uncertainty, and we didn’t know what sea conditions we would face the following morning.
The next morning [race day], we departed from Rhodes Harbour aboard four sailing boats. After approximately two hours of sailing, we arrived at Kizilada Island, which means ‘Red Island’ in the Turkish language, in Marmaris, Turkey. Although the storm had passed, the sea remained rough and challenging.
Once on the island, we decided to go and entered the water, touched the Turkish shoreline and began swimming towards Rhodes, crossing from Asia to Europe. The effects of the previous day’s storm made the crossing particularly demanding.
The air temperature was between 20–24°C, while the sea temperature was 25–26°C. Winds were generally light to moderate, although conditions varied along the route. Despite the improvement in weather after the severe storm on October 14th, the sea remained rough and challenging. The previous day’s storm had left its mark on the water, making the crossing demanding to say the least. It was one of the toughest and most memorable experiences of my open water swimming journey.
What made this journey so special was its geographical and historical significance: starting in Turkey, in Asia, and swimming back to Greece, in Europe. We were crossing two continents under our own power.“
2027 Rhodes – Marmaris Bioprene Men’s Results (bioprene)
- Jeff Naylor (USA) 5 hours 19 minutes
- Barry Zipp, USA, 5 hours 19 minutes
- Flavio Pardo, Argentina, 5 hours 39 minutes
- Ezequiel Rius, Spain 5 hours 39 minutes
- Konstantin Glushkov, Russia 5 hours 49 minutes
- Vlacheslav Stakhurskii, Russia 6 hours 5 minutes
- Rohan Cruise, UK, 6 hours 24 minutes
- Jeremias Mateo, Spain 6 hours 40 minutes
- Tomas Meca, Spain 6 hours 40 minutes
- Alain Simac, France 6 hours 41 minutes
- François Peyrot, France 7 hours 40 minutes
- Brian Lasky, USA 7 hours 54 minutes
- Bryan Main, USA 8 hours 33 minutes
2027 Rhodes – Marmaris Bioprene Women’s Results (bioprene)
- Anna Alesandrova, Latvia 5 hours 26 minutes
- Meery-Kaya Kühne, Germany 5 hours 33 minutes
- Maria Antonieta de Mucha, Mexico 6 hours 5 minutes
- Emma Vockins, UK 6 hours 40 minutes
- Yana Lohvinenko, Ukraine 9 hours 21 minutes
@ 2026 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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