Tsanko Tsankov became the world champion in ice swimming at the championships in Tallinn, Estonia. The Bulgarian beat the competition in the 200m freestyle. Tsankov triumphed with the gold medal emphatically in the icy waters of the Baltic Sea, finishing in 2:08.83 minutes.

He was followed by Benjamin Konjac (Germany) in 2:16.80 and Peter Plavec (Slovakia) in 2:30.66. Tsanko Tsankov’s unique achievement and the gold medal are not all from the World Championships. The Burgas resident also won the bronze medal in the 25m Butterfly discipline with a time of 13:36 seconds.This is another success for the swimmer, who in August 2023 became the first Bulgarian to swim the distance from the island of Cancun. Santa Catalina to Los Angeles.

Swimming this distance is part of the seven marathon races of the Ocean Seven circuit – the most difficult open water swims officially certified by the World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA). So far, Tsanko has successfully completed two of the seven marathon swims (his first Ocean Seven success was swimming the Strait of Gibraltar) and is now preparing to face a new challenge – swimming the Cook Strait, which is again part of the Ocean Seven.

Back in 2023, the foundation supported Tsankov in his quest to swim the Catalina Strait, and is currently organizing various initiatives with him to encourage the younger generation to take up the sport. The swimmer also aims to become the first Bulgarian to have completed all Ocean Seven events.

This afternoon, Tsanko will fight for third honors in the 450m freestyle. He enters the final and the swim will be at 17:50. There are over 900 competitors from 41 countries at the World Championships.

Source: BGNES