At the World Ice Swimming Championships, which took place in the Estonian capital Tallinn, swimmer Tsanko Tsankov set a world record in the disciplines 200, with a time of 2:08:83 minutes, and 450 meters freestyle with a time of 5:21:59 minutes. He also managed to win two gold medals in the respective disciplines and a bronze in the 25m butterfly.

In 2023. Tsanko Tsankov became the first Bulgarian to swim the 37-kilometre distance from Santa Catalina Island to Los Angeles in the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean in 10 hours 33 minutes and 29 seconds. 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).

For 2024, the swimmer has set himself the goal of successfully completing two more Ocean Seven races – the swim across the Cook Strait (New Zealand) and the swim across the Kauai Strait (Hawaii), which he will complete with the support of the Sport in Bulgaria Foundation.

“We don’t receive any funding or support from the Bulgarian side – we depend and depend on our partnership with the Sport in Bulgaria Foundation. My successes and results would not have been possible without this support”. This is what 36-year-old Tsanko Tsankov answered after his return to his native land from Tallinn, Estonia.

Currently, Tsanko is preparing for the crossing of the Cook Strait, which is scheduled to take place in the period 1-10 April. According to the information provided by the Sport in Bulgaria Foundation, the swim across the Kauai Strait should take place in early November (8-11 November).

The Kauai Strait (also known as the Molokai Strait) separates the islands of Oahu and Molokai and is 42 km wide. Its maximum depth is 700 m. A curious fact is that both Cook Strait in New Zealand and Kauai in Hawaii were discovered by James Cook.