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Location Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey | ||
The Bosphorus Cross Continental Swim (Turkish: Boğaziçi Kıtalararası Yüzme Yarışı) is an open water swimming event between the continents Europe and Asia held annually at Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey. Established in 1989, the event is organized by the Turkish Olympic Committee and sponsored by Samsung.
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History
The swimming event was held for the first time on July 23, 1989, at which 64 male and 4 female competitors took part. The next year, the course's start was relocated from Çubuklu more far to Kanlıca, extending its distance to 6.5 km (4.0 mi). In 1992, the event became international with the participation of 22 swimmers from Czechoslovakia and two from the United States. Course record was set in 2006 by Turkish swimmers Alişan Alaşlı in the men's category with 39:07.11 and Beren Kayrak in the women's category with 40:50.35. Since 2010, every swimmer completing the course receives a certificate titled "Intercontinental Swimmer".
Notable swimmers
Many notable swimmers from all over the world took place at the event during its history. In 2012, American swimmer Mark Spitz, nine-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in seven events, was a guest, and performed shows. Ian Thorpe, Olympic gold medalist from Australia, was also a guest among the competitors of 2013. Turkish woman Fatma Nazan Göğen took part in all races from its beginning in 1989. Turkish Levent Aksüt, at the age of 85, was the oldest swimmer so far. Local sportsman Hasan Eskioğlu holds the record of most winning swimmer with ten times, of which seven in a row.
Participation
More than 2,000 swimmers, including over 500 females with half of them being foreigners, from over 50 countries participate at the event. Currently, the number of foreign swimmers is limited to 1,000, and only up to 300 are permitted to participate from each country. There are 12 age categories for each gender, from the age of 14 to 70 and over.
Course
The route starts at the Pier of Kanlıca, north of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, on the Asian part of Istanbul, runs southwards, and finishes at Cemil Topuzlu Park in Kuruçeşme, north of the Bosphorus Bridge, on the European part of the city.