site.btaPetar Stoychev Is the First Bulgarian to Swim Cook Strait in New Zealand

Petar Stoychev, recognized as the world's most successful marathon swimmer, recorded a new major achievement in his career. He became the first Bulgarian to swim the Cook Strait, connecting the South and North Islands of New Zealand.

Stoychev succeeded despite extremely difficult conditions - very strong wind, big waves and strong current. The Cook is generally considered one of the most dangerous straits in the world. The distance between the islands is about 26 kilometres (26 mi) as the crow flies, and Stoychev swam over 20.7 nautical miles (over 38 km) in the rough conditions from the South Island to the North Island. He swam the Cook Strait in 6:51 hours, the best time for the 2023/2024 season.

"We started just before 6 am. The water temperature was 14C. In the first two hours conditions were okay. Then the wind turned scary and big waves came in. But I'm very happy that I made it. When I got in the boat after the swim, the team told me they were amazed that I made it in under seven hours in these conditions, they expected it to be at least ten hours," he added.