Former world champion in open water swimming Peter Stoychev swam the 38.1 km distance from Northern Ireland to Scotland in less than 10 hours, Stoychev said on his Facebook profile.
The 47-year-old Bulgarian covered the distance in 9 hours and 56 minutes, becoming the 11th swimmer in history to do so in under 10 hours.
"I covered 38.1 kilometers (the usual distance is 34.5 kilometers) from Northern Ireland to the Scottish coast in 9 hours and 56 minutes. It was a very difficult swim, with water temperatures ranging from 12.9 C to 13.4 C. I I became the 144th person to successfully swim the North Channel and entered the prestigious club of those who have done it in less than 10 hours, which includes only 10 other people in the world," Stoychev wrote. He recorded eighth best time of all.
He is also the first Bulgarian to swim six of the seven ocean marathons - the English Channel, the Cook Strait, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Strait of Molokai, the Catalina Channel and the North Channel. Stoychev has only one more to go - the Tsugaru Strait in Japan.
"But now I have some time to enjoy the success in the coldest challenges of seven marathons and to thank all Bulgarians who continue to show their support. To Ivan Zllatinov, with whom we were together in this step towards great success and my coach Krasimir Tumanov", said Stoychev /BTA
