Record at the Bosphorus

The 35th edition of the Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race saw a record number of 2369 swimmers finishing the race.

Annually staged by the Turkish Olympic Committee since 1989, the Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race is held between Kanlıca on the Asian side of Istanbul and the Kuruçeşme Cemil Topuzlu Park on the European side. The first competitor who came out of water this year was Doğukan Uluç with a time of 41:22. Women’s race was won by Burcunaz Narin in 42:54.

The total number of entrants had reached 2683, slightly over the initial quota, when the registration system closed earlier this year. 1761 male and 685 female participants, totalling to 2446, started the race on Sunday morning, 20 August. The challenging course of 6.5km was successfully completed by 2369 swimmers, 1719 men and 650 women.

The statistics of the 35th Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race are as follows:

Total entries 2683 (1933 male, 750 female)
Starters 2446 (1761 male, 685 female)
Finishers 2369 (1719 male, 650 female)
Handicapped finishers 23 (20 male, 3 female)
Non-finishers 75 (41 male, 34 female)
Disqualified 2 (1 male, 1 female)

The application process for the Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race, sponsored by Samsung, starts in early January each year at http://bogazici.olimpiyat.org.tr. The event is traditionally staged on the third Sunday of August.