site.btaAugust 24, 2007: Bulgaria's Petar Stoychev Sets World Record for Fastest English Channel Swim

On August 24, 2007, Bulgarian marathon swimmer Petar Stoychev set a world record for the fastest crossing of the English Channel, completing the swim in 6 hours, 57 minutes and 50 seconds, becoming the first person to finish in under seven hours.

Stoychev began his swim at 12:11 pm local time from Shakespeare Beach in Dover, England, and reached the French port of Calais at 7:08 pm. Though the straight-line distance across the Channel is about 32 km, he covered 38.43 km due to strong currents and heavy shipping traffic.

The 31-year-old broke the previous record of 7 hours, 3 minutes and 25 seconds, set by Germany's Christof Wandratsch in August 2005. Stoychev had attempted the feat in 2006 but was thwarted by rough seas and strong winds, finishing in 7 hours, 21 minutes.

His record stood until 2023, when German swimmer Andreas Waschburger crossed the Channel in 6 hours, 45 minutes and 25 seconds.

The English Channel has been a benchmark challenge for open-water swimmers for over a century. Under established rules, competitors may wear only a standard swimsuit, with wetsuits prohibited, and support crews are not allowed to touch swimmers while they are in the water.

BTA's English Service reported on Stoychev's record in 2007:

Bulgaria's Stoychev Sets World Record Swimming Across English Channel 

Sofia, August 24 (BTA) - Bulgarian swimmer Petar Stoychev on Friday set a world record swimming across the English Channel. The seven-time World Open Water Swimming Championships winner crossed the distance of 38.43 km in six hours, 57 minutes and 50 seconds. Thus Stoychev improved the record of German Christof Wandratsch by five minutes and 35 seconds.

Stoychev, born in the southern town of Momchilgrad on October 24, 1976, has had a remarkable international career. He competed in four Summer Olympic Games: Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012. He earned multiple medals in world and European championships, including a 25 km world title in Shanghai in 2011. At the European level, he took gold in Piombino, Italy, in 2012; silver in Eilat, Israel, in 2011; and bronze in Madrid in 2004, all in open-water events.

Stoychev also briefly served as Bulgaria's Minister of Physical Education and Sports from March to May 2013. In 2024, he was officially recognized in the Guinness World Records for the fastest completion of the Oceans Seven, the seven most challenging ocean channels,  in 173 days, swimming the Cook Strait, Gibraltar Strait, Molokai Channel, Catalina Channel, North Channel, Tsugaru Strait and the English Channel.

He was named the world's best open-water swimmer in 2009 in a global poll conducted by the World Open Water Swimming Association and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the same year. On September 13, 2009, he received a special award recognizing him as the greatest marathon swimmer in history to that date.