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Romanian athlete Avram Iancu will swim on Wednesday, August 3, in Balaton Lake in Hungary, the largest lake in Central Europe, where he will try to remain in the water for at least 43 hours and 16 minutes, thus bringing down the European swimming record in free waters.
The librarian from southwestern Petrosani will leave for Balaton on Tuesday, by car, where on Wednesday morning, at 09:00, he will start swimming in the lake's 75 kilometers.
"I am trying to establish another record. Apart from conquering this important lake in Europe, I am also trying to set the longest record, duration-wise, on the continent. There is a European ranking for swimming duration, where you cannot enter if you have not swum for at least 24 hours, non-stop. The European record, after this criteria, is 43 hours and 15 minutes, established by Kevin Murphy, from England, who even swam in Lake Balaton. I will try to swim at least one minute longer than that time. I hold the Romanian record in this field, with 36 hours and 29 minutes, but now I want to establish a new European record," Avram Iancu said for AGERPRES on Monday.
According to him, the fact that Lake Balaton has a large stretch is an issue for swimmers, mostly because of the risk of large waves.
"The lake, the largest one in Central Europe, is difficult to cross. It has a 75 kilometer length, in a straight line, and the water surface is quite large. Any wind can generate big waves, which hinder movement. It is sweet water, and buoyancy is not as high as in the ocean or the sea, where salinity is high," Iancu explained.
Another problem is the lack of sleep during the 43 hours of swimming, fatigue being felt by athletes, especially during the first hours of morning, when outside temperature drops to 18-20 degrees Celsius.
The swim is organized by the Balaton Lake Lifeguards, who will pursue for the conditions to be respected in order to approve the swim.
Avram Iancu tried to establish a record on Lake Balaton in July 2021, but was forced to stop because of a storm and large waves, which could have put his life in jeopardy.
The last record set by the Petrosani athlete took place this year, on July 21, when Iancu managed to cross the Bristol Channel, being the first Romanian to establish such performance and the 14th swimmer in the world who managed to do this.AGERPRES
