site.btaPort Burgas Swimming Marathon Attracts Record 217 Entrants from Eight Countries

A record 217 entrants from eight countries (Austria, Germany, North Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine and Bulgaria) competed in the 4th Port Burgas Swimming Marathon on Sunday. The event was held in the aquatory of the Passenger Terminal in the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Burgas and involved two swimming distances: 1,000 m and 3,000 m.

Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Stoyan Andonov opened the marathon, and Father Stilian said a prayer for good health and success.

The 1,000 m events proved hotly contested. The winner in the men's division is Yordan Yanchev, who clocked 12:32 min, followed by Daren Kirilov in second place (12:34 min) and Kaloyan Dragnev (12:39 min). In the women's division at 1,000 m, the result was decided on a photo finish. The gold medal went to Lora Velikova (13:30 min), followed by Kalina Zaharieva (13:31 min) and Lilyana Georgieva (13:33 min).

At 3,000 m, the men's champion is Daren Kirilov (37:16 min), who competed at the other distance as well. Kaloyan Dragnev finished two seconds behind Kirilov, and Georgi Yanev came in third in 38:22 min. Lora Velikova triumphed in the women's 3,000 m race on 40:46 min. The silver went to Kalina Zaharieva (40:47 min), and the bronze to Lilyana Georgieva (41:09 min).

The competition was organized by Tsanko Tsankov, who holds a world record for 12 hours of continuous swimming in a 50 m pool, and the Pobeda Aquatics Club with the support of Burgas City Hall, the Bulgarian Navy, Port Burgas and other sponsors.

Tsankov said he was happy that the marathon became a celebration of the sport of swimming, with so many people taking part. Discussing his personal plans, the open water swimming champion said he is in the middle of an intense training period for a 100 km marathon down the Danube River on September 6 and another challenge of the Ocean Seven series, which will be held in the Pacific Ocean in early November.