An Amazing Record

Today Martin Strel from Slovenia is a hero. He swam the 5,268 kilometres of the Amazon River in 66 days. He is the only man in the world to do this, breaking all world records.

Martin has swum the Danube, the Mississippi and the Yangtze rivers. They are all more than 3,000 kilometres long. But swimming the Amazon is more dangerous. The river is very wide and deep with strong currents. Heavy rain sometimes continues for days. This rain makes it dangerous above the water. It is also dangerous under the water, because hungry piranha fish wait to attack.

Martin prepared himself before his long swim. For months he swam three to five hours every day and practised in the gym to be strong. He also travelled to the Amazon to learn about the river and its dangers. He talked to doctors. They told him how to protect himself against dangerous diseases.

When he was swimming in the Amazon, Martin swam 12 hours every day, but only during the day. He swam about 85 kilometres every day. To protect himself, he wore a wetsuit. When we asked him why he wanted this challenge, he said, ‘If you have a goal, you have to try to achieve it. I chose to swim the Amazon.’