Gibraltar swimming

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The Gibraltar Swimming is one of the most famous and challenging long distance swimming competitions and part of the Ocean's Seven swimming series .

In this swimming competition, swimmers have to swim across the Strait of Gibraltar . Breaks of a maximum of one minute to take meals are allowed. The swimmer must not touch the escort boat. The starting point is in Tarifa , Spain. To get into the official rating, the swimmers have to touch the mainland of Africa. The minimum distance swimmers have to cover is around 14.5 kilometers. Due to the unpredictable current and weather conditions, some athletes also had to swim a distance of over 20 kilometers.

Organization and implementation

The ACNEG (Asociación Cruce a Nado del Estrecho de Gibraltar) is responsible for the planning and implementation. This organization coordinates the crossings from March to November. The maximum number of swimming is in groups of four, each group or swimmer is assigned a time slot in advance in which the swim can possibly take place. During this time, the swimmers or the swimming group must be ready. This time window is usually set to ten days. Due to the constantly changing wind and current conditions, the actual start can only be determined at very short notice. The waiting times for a starting place are sometimes 1½ years. The swimmers are accompanied by two boats. A boat gives the rough direction of swimming and coordinates communication with the cargo ships and the Moroccan coast guard. Another boat accompanies the swimmers and is u. a. responsible for catering and supervision.

There are basically two variants in the eternity ranking list of the records: swimmers who swim with or without a wetsuit. There are also relay competitions and double crossings (Spain-Africa, Africa-Spain).

In 2018, 150 swimmers from around the world managed to swim across the Strait of Gibraltar.

history

Long-distance swimmers were already using the Strait of Gibraltar as a swimming challenge in the 1920s. British swimmer Mercedes Gleitze became the first person to cross the Strait of Gibraltar in 1928. In the 1980s, a team led by Rafael Gutiérrez Mesa from Tarifa organized the swimming competitions. In 1999 he founded the ACNEG (Asociación Cruce a Nado del Estrecho de Gibraltar). This organization still coordinates the Gibraltar crossing for swimmers from all over the world. After the death of Rafael Gutiérrez Mesa in 2017, one of his daughters, Laura Gutiérrez Mesa, took over the management of the organization and now acts as the President of ACNEG.

Special challenges

Swimming in the Strait of Gibraltar is considered to be one of the most dangerous and challenging swimming competitions in the world.

Extreme weather conditions prevail in the Strait of Gibraltar. The strong winds and sudden weather changes are responsible for this. Strong and unpredictable currents make it difficult to swim successfully through the strait.

The Strait of Gibraltar is also one of the busiest sea routes in the world. Swimmers must expect contact with pilot and fin whales , orcas , dolphins and jellyfish .

Because of these specific features, each crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar must be viewed and assessed individually. A comparison of times and distances is hardly possible; these vary significantly - depending on the framework conditions. In general, it is only possible to cross the strait with a westerly wind. Before an athlete is admitted to the swimming competition, he must u. a. Prove extensive physical and mental examinations, which must be documented in a "medical certificate". This is to ensure that the athletes are in a safe state of health.

German swimmers

By April 2019, a total of 32 German swimmers had successfully swum the Strait of Gibraltar and are therefore included in the eternity list. Aborted attempts are not included in the list. The German swimmer Natalie Pohl set a new world record for women with a time of 2 hours and 53 minutes for 15 km in April 2016 under very good conditions.

Swimmers without a wetsuit

Surname date time Arrivals Born on the Age
Joachim Hugo Helmut Neusser 08/05/2004 05:10 Leona Point 05/10/1964 40
Christof Günter Wandratsch (2) 06/09/2007 02:52 Cires December 20, 1966 40
Christian Hartmann Hermann 07/13/2008 05:32 Marsa 04/03/1966 42
Philipp Tiedt 08/26/2009 04:44 Benzu 12/30/1981 27
Kirsten Franke 09/04/2009 05:24 Leona 03/01/1957 52
Euler Konrad Paul Herbet 09/27/2009 04:09 El Vaar 06/02/1935 74
Matthias Kassner 06/06/2010 04:18 Almansa 10/28/1967 42
Margit Bohnhoff 09/28/2010 04:33 Perejil Island January 15, 1963 47
Armin Johannes miracle 05/20/2011 07:30 Cires 09/27/1967 43
Oswald Schmidt 07/10/2011 07:05 El Marsa 07/03/1948 63
Birgit Hannelore Kempf 07/26/2012 05:29 Perejil Island 07/20/1968 44
Stefan Rungen 08/27/2012 03:57 Cires October 29, 1967 44
Vasanti Niemz 09/10/2012 05:25 El Marsa December 8, 1956 55
Christian Erhard Binner 06/22/2014 04:26 Almansa 07/25/1966 47
Martin Lange 08/05/2014 04:53 Almansa 02/16/1981 33
Sabine Anna Krämer Dörr 04/18/2015 04:33 Almansa December 14, 1966 48
Anke Höhne 08/17/2015 04:49 Almansa September 18, 1970 44
Nathalie Luisa Pohl 04/23/2016 02:53 Cires 10/13/1994 21st
Andreas Kiefer 08/01/2016 04:18 Cires 04/04/1964 52
Oliver Rainer Köhncke 09/08/2016 03:33 Leona 09/15/1968 47
Joseph Hes 09/09/2016 04:18 Perejil Island 06/12/1987 29
Simon Alexander Lück 07/02/2018 05:05 Marsa 07/05/1976 41

Swimmer with wetsuit

Surname date time Arrivals Born on the Age
Kurosh Hojabri 09/09/2008 04:16 Almansa 04/21/1963 45
Michael Trepte 07/10/2011 03:50 Cires December 23, 1980 30th
Axel Holm Willy Hallbauer 07/10/2011 03:50 Cires 07/02/1973 38
Christian Ziaja 08/11/2015 04:44 Almansa 11/18/1975 39
Manfred Gross 08/25/2015 04:21 Almansa 05/24/1962 53
Markus Kampmeier 08/25/2015 04:21 Almansa 06/24/1971 44
Ralph Konrad Eickhoff 08/25/2015 04:21 Almansa 02/08/1963 52
Boris Szarvas 09/20/2016 04:02 Cires December 27, 1962 43
Christian Bodach October 17, 2018 05:20 Benzú December 13, 1979 38

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rules and Regulations. In: ACNEG. Retrieved March 23, 2019 .
  2. ↑ La verdad de Ceuta: Se reanudan los cruces a nado del Estrecho tras un paréntesis por el mal tiempo. In: www.laverdaddeceuta.com/. October 17, 2018, accessed March 23, 2019 (Spanish).
  3. ↑ ACNEG: ACNEG. In: www.acneg.com. Retrieved March 23, 2019 .
  4. ↑ ACNEG: eternity ranking of World Records. In: www.acneg.com/en/. ACNEG, accessed March 23, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Europa Sur: Más de 150 aventureros, en el cruce del Estrecho en 2018. November 27, 2018, accessed on March 24, 2019 (Spanish).
  6. ↑ Steven Munatones: Rafael Gutiérrez Mesa Leaves A Legacy Of Greatness. www.openwaterswimming.com, October 14, 2017, accessed on March 23, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Red Bull: The world's 7 most dangerous open-water swims. In: www.redbull.com. Red Bull, accessed March 23, 2019 .
  8. ^ The Strait. In: ACNEG. Retrieved March 23, 2019 .
  9. ^ Strait of Gibraltar. In: www.skipperguide.de. Skipperguide, December 21, 2017, accessed March 23, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Whales and Dolphins in the Strait of Gibraltar. Retrieved March 23, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Registration. In: ACNEG. Retrieved March 23, 2019 .
  12. ^ Strait of Gibraltar | Nathalie Pohl from Marburg swims a record. Retrieved March 24, 2019 .
  13. ^ Records with Neoprene. In: ACNEG. Retrieved March 23, 2019 .
  14. ^ Records without neoprene. In: ACNEG. Retrieved March 23, 2019 .