Newsletter

Martin Strel is indeed an incredible man and a BIG S WIMMER. Born on October 1, 1954 in the small country of Slovenia, formerly communist Yugoslavia, Martin taught himself to swim in a nearby stream near his home when he was only 6 years old. By age 24 he became a professional marathon swimmer. He has in recent years swum incredible distances, surpassing all expectations, and breaking many world records.

 Some of his greatest swimming achievements include:

1. Danube River, Europe (June 25 to August 23, 2000): 1,867 miles in 58 days. This new world record in distance swimming brings Martin into the Guinness Book of World Records. He is the first person to swim the entire Danube River from start to finish.
2. Danube River, Europe (July 2001): 313 miles non-stop in 84 hours and 10 minutes. Breaks another world record for the longest distance swim non-stop.
3. Mississippi River, USA (July 4 to September 9, 2002): 2,360 miles in 68 days. He is the first person to swim the entire Mississippi River from start to finish. Breaks his own long distance swimming world record and enters the Guinness Book again.
4. Paraná River, Argentina (November 15 to December 8, 2003): Swims 1,200 miles from Iguazú Falls to the center of Buenos Aires in Río de La Plata, averaging 50 miles a day.
5. Yangtze River, China (June 10 to July 30, 2004): 2,488 miles in 51 days, once again breaking his own world record and entering the Guinness Book. The Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia.

Martin Strel

This is a very impressive history. Martin said: “As a young boy, I was beaten a lot by my parents and schoolmasters. This no doubt contributed greatly to my ability to ignore pain and endure.”

Not satisfied with his previous accomplishments, 52 year old Martin set out to tackle the Amazon River, the world’s greatest river, on February 1, 2007. As of this writing he is 28 days into his swim. You can check his progress at www.amazonswim.com. His swim started in the jungle town of Atalaya in Peru and will end in the Atlantic Ocean in Belém, Brazil. The plan is to swim the 3,375 mile distance in 70 days, ending on April 11, and breaking his own previous world record.
The Amazon swim will be a treacherous feat. The Amazon is home to many poisonous and flesh eating animals, such as bull sharks, stingrays, piranhas, crocodiles, caiman, snakes, electric eels, poisonous insects, poisonous fish, and many others. Strel comments: “Yangtze is a very dangerous river for swimmers, but the Amazon is also home to some of the most poisonous and dangerous and ferocious animals, fish and insects... I’m going to swim that river or die trying. But dying is not my intention.” In addition, towards the end of the swim he will face the mighty Pororoca, a tidal wave more than 13 feet high.
Strel will be accompanied by a team of 20 people, including doctors and river guides, in 3 boats. He will swim about 12 hours a day, sleep for about 3 and half hours, and the rest of the time is for massages and doctors working on pains and the like. The boats will carry buckets of fresh blood to pour into the water as a distraction in case piranhas or other flesh eating fish or reptiles attack Strel.
Strel was quoted as saying: “I’ve always been swimming for peace and friendship. I decided to dedicate the Amazon swim also to the preservation of the rain forest and clean waters.”

Source: Amazonswim.com, Msnbc.com, Wikipedia.org

Related Links:

The Amazon Swim expedition’s homepage: www.amazonswim.com

Learn more about the Amazon here: http://www.amazonswim.com/main.php?S=1&Folder=1&L=2

Pictures of some of the dangerous animals Strel will face:

Piranhas


Bull Sharks are well-known for their unpredictable and aggressive behavior.
They have a tolerance for fresh water that is unique among marine sharks,
and can travel incredibly far up rivers.


Electric Eel

Stingray


Crocodile


The ruler above is in centimeters. This is the feared Candiru or toothpick fish,
which likes to swim into body orifices, erect a spine and start feeding on blood and tissue. Strel will have to be careful about urinating in the water, which can attract this fish,
enticing it to enter the urethra. This occurrence is not uncommon. Yikes!.

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• Newsletter December 2007
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