Martin Strel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Martin Strel (born October 1, 1954) is a Slovenian ultra marathon swimmer, best known for swimming the entire length of various rivers, including the Mississippi and the Amazon. He was born in Mokronog, Slovenia.
Strel holds successive Guinness World Records for swimming the Danube, the Mississippi, and the Yangtze.[1]
During his swims, he sleeps for 5 hours each day. He prepares himself for a marathon swim over a year and a half. It usually takes 6 to 7 months for Strel to recover physically.
His motto is "I swim for peace, friendship and clean water." [2] (Slovenian: "Plavam za mir, prijateljstvo in čiste vode")
Contents |
Swimming history
Strel's first two river swims were the river Krka (105 km) in his homeland, in 28 hours in 1992, and the boundary river Kolpa/Kupa (62 km), in 16 hours in 1993. In 2000 he swam the Danube River (2860 km) and achieved the world's long distance swimming record (3004 km) in 58 days. In July 2001, he achieved one more world record - 504 km of non-stop swimming in Danube within 84 hours and 10 minutes.
In 2002, he swam the entire Mississippi River (3885 km) in 68 days. In 2003, he swam the Argentinean Paraná River (3998 km). On June 10, 2004, Martin started swimming down the Yangtze River (4003 km, the longest river in Asia, the third longest in the world) in China. He reached Shanghai in 40 days on July 30, 2004, one day before planned.
Strel swam the Amazon River, commencing on February 1, 2007 [2], finishing 66 days later on April 7, 2007[3]. If verified this would be another record-breaking distance of 3,274 miles (5,268 km), longer than the width of the Atlantic Ocean. He had escort boats that poured blood into the river to distract meat-eating fish such as piranhas and sharks. Though this is not verifiable
The Nile had been proposed as his next river, but Strel said, "I am not going to do the Nile. It's long but not challenging enough, it is just a small creek. The Amazon is much more mighty."[4]
[edit] Criticism
Slovenian public is divided in opinion of his achievements. While some hail them as heroic and a terriffic contribution to promotion of Slovenia, many see Strel as a kind of a charlatan, given that he swims with the current and that his stature is hardly "athletic". He has been regarded as such by parts of the Slovenian press and even some professional swimmers. Strel is denouncing criticism, citing numerous praising articles and reports about his career in the foreign press (incl. BBC and CNN), saying Slovenian press should look up to them.
[edit] References
- ^ Pav Jordan. "Blistering sun main threat so far for Amazon swimmer", ABC News, February 9, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-09.
- ^ a b Andrei Khalip. "Buckets of blood readied for Amazon swim", Yahoo! News, January 19, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-20.
- ^ "Slovenian completes Amazon swim", BBC News, 7 April 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-09.
- ^ Muello, Peter. "Man Swims 3,272-Mile Amazon in 65 Days", Associated Press, April 7, 2007.
"The Man Who Swam The Amazon" Matthew Mohlke and Martin Strel
