Lake Constance crossing
When Constance crossing is Constance by Marathon float as a form of extreme swimming traversed. The crossing does not take place as a simultaneous competition between several participants, but individual swimmers undertake one of the routes with timekeeping.
Routes and records
Three routes are recorded during the Lake Constance crossing: longitudinal crossing, three-country crossing and width crossing. Based on these routes, there are extensions such as the double or triple width crossing, or difficulties such as a crossing in cold water but with a wetsuit.
The longest route is the longitudinal crossing. It runs lengthways through the lake in Lake Constance between Bodman / Germany and Bregenz / Austria. The distance is 64 kilometers. Christof Wandratsch covered the route in record time in 2013 . His time of 8:41 p.m. is a course record to this day.
The second longest route is the three-country crossing. It begins in Lindau on the German bank and runs through the Swiss town of Rorschach to its destination in Bregenz / Austria. The distance is about 38 kilometers. This distance was first covered in 2014 by Mirjam Schall in 14:37. Christof Wandratsch has held the course record of 8:43 since 2016 .
The shortest crossing is the width crossing. It is swum from Friedrichshafen / Germany to Romanshorn in Switzerland or in the opposite direction. The distance is approx. 12 kilometers. The distances change due to the influence of water currents and waves, so that the athletes usually cover different swimming distances at water temperatures between 16 and 28 ° C. Christof Wandratsch has held the course record of 2:28 hours since 2015 . The record for the longest latitude crossing is held by the German comedy star Wigald Boning , who needed 7:24 hours to cross Lake Constance from Friedrichshafen to Romanshorn.
Disabled swimmers are also supported when crossing Lake Constance and are included in their own list. They are allowed to use aids that compensate for the handicap they have. This is an absolute novelty in the international marathon and extreme swimmer scene. As the first disabled swimmer, Sven Eckardt, who is paraplegic, dared to cross the width and successfully completed it after 5:33 hours. As an aid, he used a standard pull buoy. It is a foam wedge that swimmers wedge between their thighs as a buoyancy aid for training purposes. For this extraordinary achievement, he was even nominated by the World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) for the greatest achievement (Performance of the Year) of 2017.
The first swimmer to successfully complete all three Lake Constance crossings is Christof Wandratsch . On July 24, 2016, he successfully completed the last of the three crossings. He also holds the speed record on all three routes.
Web links
- Bodenseequerung , website with records
Individual evidence
- ↑ Wolfgang Messner: Bodensee-Traverse: "The absolutely toughest race" Stuttgarter Zeitung of July 24, 2013
- ↑ Wigald Boning crosses Lake Constance. Retrieved February 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Wigald Boning: How I became world champion in slow swimming . Ed .: Bodenseequerung - WoW-Art. ( bodenseequerung.de [PDF]).
- ↑ Daniela Kapser: Sven Eckardt nominated for 2017. In: SwimSwam. December 27, 2017 .
- ↑ Extreme swimmer record - ER has crossed Lake Constance three times . In: BILD from July 16, 2016.