Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

After conquering the Oceans Seven, the Bulgarian swimmer has a new goal

Petar Stoychev nears world record with only 1 of 7 ocean straits left to swim

Stoychev crossed Tsugaru Strait in 9 hours despite tsunami warning

Photo: Facebook/Petar Stoychev

Hours before Petar Stoychev arrived in Japan for the final swimming marathon across the Tsugaru Strait of the Seven Oceans series, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake and typhoon struck

A tsunami was also expected. "Japan was a very surprising trip. The distance there should have been 20 km, but because of the strong currents we started from a fishing village 10 km away. The first half of the distance took us 3 hours and 10-15 minutes, but the second half took us twice as long," Stoychev told bTV.

In the sea, Stoychev swims in a simple textile swimsuit that does not protect him from the cold water. A small red light is attached to his swimsuit to make him visible in the dark. He also rubs his body with special ointments to prevent his skin from chafing in the salty water.

Petar Stoychev has conquered the Oceans Seven, but now he is going for a new record.

Next week, Stoychev will travel to England to swim the Channel for the third time. If he does, he'll become the first person in the world to swim all seven of the Oceans Seven marathons in less than half a year. He last swam La Manche in 2007, when he also set a world record.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Valentina Georgieva

Bulgaria's Valentina Georgieva wins silver in vault final at the European Gymnastics championship in Leipzig

Valentina Georgieva defended her second place in the vault final of the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in the German city of Leipzig . The Bulgarian gymnast, who also placed second last year in Rimini, performed a great first vault, which..

published on 5/31/25 10:06 AM

Plovdiv hosts European Rowing Championships

The European Rowing Championships for men and women were officially opened at the rowing canal in Plovdiv. 800 rowers from 33 countries are taking part in the championships, taking place 29 May – 1 June.    At the ceremony, the President of the..

published on 5/29/25 9:32 AM

Bulgaria qualifies for the Round of 16 of the Minifootball World Cup in Baku

The Bulgarian National Minifootball Team advanced to the Round of 16 at the Minifootball World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Bulgarian team secured a 1–0 victory over Slovakia in their third Group D match. The only goal of the match was..

published on 5/26/25 11:13 AM