Adventure Swimmer Starts His Amazon Swim on 1 February
Slovenian ultra-marathon swimmer Martin Strel is embarking on his latest venture, making an attempt at setting a new long distance world record by swimming 5,430 kilometres of the world's greatest river, the Amazon. Strel will begin his adventure in Peru on 1 February and hopefully conclude it in Belem, Brazil on 11 April.
Strel has so far set four Guinness records by swimming the rivers Danube, Mississippi, Parana and Yangtze.
For his latest challenge, Strel upgraded his usual motto of "I swim for peace, friendship and clean water" with "I swim for preservation of life in rain forests".
As regards the humanitarian side, Strel also wants to raise awareness of Alzheimer disease and other neurological disorders, and promote telemedicine as a valuable tool in bringing modern medicine to remote areas.
Strel addressed the press on Tuesday holding a large machete and saying he hoped he would not have to use it. He also talked about the numerous dangers he will be facing during the swim, such as piranhas, crocodiles, sharks, high temperatures and humidity.
"It's not only that I have to swim the river, I also have to beat it," Strel said in reference to the last 500 kilometres of the river which are known to be especially harsh.
The mouth of the river is 350 kilometres wide, with unpredictable currents, tides, strong winds. Finally, there is also the 4-metre high tidal bore, known as Pororoca.
Pororoca has become popular with surfers, but it is extremely dangerous for swimmers. "The people of Belem promised me a great welcome party when I arrive...I mean, if I arrive," said Strel.
Strel's team will remain in contact via satellite, while a film crew from Los Angeles will be making a documentary about the feat.
"I want the footage of my swimming to reach every village and household," said Strel, adding that the interest for the project had been enormous and that answering all the e-mail his team had been receiving was virtually impossible.
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