A total of 750 swimmers and 250 sailors and canoeists took part in yesterday's event, which is organized annually by the Turkish National Olympic Committee (TMOK). Swimmer Emre Musluoğlu ranked first at this year's swimming competition by finishing the Bosporus swim in 41 minutes and 20 seconds. The second place went to Deniz Turan, who crossed the strait in 43 minutes. Romanian athlete Gabriel Moldoveanu ranked third in the swimming competition with 44 minutes.
In the women’s category, the first place went to Bulgarian Mariya Zlatkova, who crossed the strait in 44.52 minutes and also ranked fourth overall. An “intercontinental swimmer” certificate was given to every participant who finished the contest. The top three swimmers were given medals. A total of 613 male and 133 female swimmers had the to chance to swim across the Bosporus this year after being chosen from among nearly 3,000 applicants who sought to participate in the event.
 Thousands of Turkish and international athletes ranging in age from 14 to 71 took part in an international water sports competition held in İstanbul. |
Held under the sponsorship of Turkish GSM operator Turkcell, this year’s event was also supported by the İstanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture (ECOC) Agency, which coordinates cultural activities in İstanbul throughout this year, when İstanbul is a European Capital of Culture.
The participant profile of the competition was very colorful. Turkcell CEO Süreyya Ciliv, sociology professor Ümit Meriç, disabled swimmers, housewives, artists and an 80-year-old retired man were also among the participants. State Minister Kürşat Tüzmen, known as a good swimmer who took part in the past few years’ contest, did not swim this year.
Meriç said she had a hard time swimming against the current and that she had swum across the straight in one hour and 35 minutes. TMOK head Togay Bayatlı said the intercontinental competition is the first and only such competition in the world. “Interest in the event grows every year. There were 68 participants in the first year. This year the number of applicants exceeded a thousand in the first few days,” he said.
