Endurance swimmer forced to end Mediterranean record attempt after 100km

A swimmer has been forced to pull out of a record swim across the Mediterranean after almost 100km because of unexpectedly strong currents. 

Swiss swimmer Noam Yaron, 27, had been aiming to swim from Calvi, in Corsica, to Monaco to raise awareness of the urgent need to protect the Mediterranean and its habitats. 

The attempt, which was set to take three days and three nights, would have broken the world record for the longest swim in a wetsuit without leaving the water. 

Mr Yaron set off at 08:00 on Friday, August 23 but faced difficult conditions from early in the swim. 

The attempt hit serious trouble at the 100km mark, after Mr Yaron had already been swimming for two days and two nights. Unexpected currents and headwinds were making his progress, and that of the boats carrying his team, more difficult. 

“Despite my determination, and the fact that I was physically and mentally ready to continue, I had to comply with the evidence and the recommendations of my team: to face such currents, it would have been necessary to swim potentially several more days and nights, which would have made this challenge physiologically impossible given the prolonged lack of sleep. So the sea won!” he said in a statement on Instagram. 

Mr Yaron said he was in good mental and physical shape, apart from some light injuries in the armpits, forearms and inside his mouth caused by salt and friction from being in the salt water for so long. 

“Fortunately, I have no serious injuries or aches, which is incredible,” he said. 

He said he was more determined than ever to complete the challenge, and would try again next year.

“I come out of this experience even more inspired by the encounters with the surprising biodiversity of the Mediterranean.” 

“I was escorted by whales, dolphins, turtles, sunfish and even devil rays, an endangered species according to the Red List of our partner IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). And of course I tried to avoid the famous jellyfish,” Mr Yaron said. 

Read more: Swimmer to attempt 3-day, 3 night non-stop Corsica to Monaco crossing

Jellyfish were a major concern for Mr Yaron ahead of the challenge. 

“It could be potentially deadly. If I come across a big group of jellyfish I could go into anaphylactic shock so the goal is to avoid them at all costs,” he told The Connexion ahead of his record attempt. 

Mr Yaron, who has completed his previous long-distance swims on the first try, said history showed that many long-distance swims are only completed after several attempts. 

He has received messages of support from around the world, including from American swimmer Diana Nyad, who completed the swim from Cuba to Florida on her fifth attempt in 2013, aged 64.

The lack of sleep during the 48-hour swim was an “interesting and surprising phenomenon”, Mr Yaron said in a Q&A after the attempt.

“It caused some funny hallucinations – I saw animals and Hawaiian dancers under a sky that had become a Van Gogh painting!”