My first great victory in marathon swimming in 2001, when I won the World Cup, was perhaps the most-difficult one in my sports career, because I managed to prove myself that I was good enough to win that swimming race. The first victory made me stronger and more confident and later I won the World Cup in marathon swimming ten more times. So, the beginning is perhaps the most difficult period, celebrated Bulgarian swimmer Petar Stoychev told Radio Bulgaria. Petar is Bulgaria's most successful swimmer who won eleven consecutive titles in swimming marathon. Moreover, he has over sixty victories in individual competitions in his brilliant sports career. Petar Stoychev participated at four Olympic Games. In 2007 he made all Bulgarians proud after he scored a world record during the marathon swimming across the English Channel. He became the first athlete who swam across the English Channel for less than 7 hours-6:57:50. In 2009 Stoychev entered the International Swimming Hall of Fame in the USA and was named the world's best swimmer in open waters. In March 2016 Petar Stoychev became a champion at the 10th Winter Swimming World Championships in cold waters in Tyumen, Russia at the 450 meter distance when he stopped the clock at 5:25:39 minutes. The water temperature was -0.4C and the air temperature was 11C. Here is what Petar Stoychev told Radio Bulgaria about that challenge:

“I set myself the goal to win a race in cold waters years ago. I wanted to feel swimming in all of its aspects. I swam in pools and open waters, but swimming in cold waters was something I had not tried before. I wanted to do it and fortunately my attempt was successful. I managed to win the World Cup in Tyumen, thus fulfilling another dream”, Petar Stoychev went on to say and added:

“We all know that we can't swim in similar conditions in Bulgaria and this winter was even warmer than usual. I was practicing in a pool where water temperature was absolutely normal - around 27C. Since I did not have the opportunity to practice in cold waters I had to make psychological trainings every day - to get ready to jump in the cold waters, to cover the distance, feel the cold and keep on swimming, no matter how cold it would be.”

In 2011 in Shanghai, China, Petar Stoychev did the opposite. He won the World Cup during the twenty five kilometer open-water marathon when the water temperature was 30.9%C. We asked Petar whether he preferred to swim in cold or very warm waters and which was easier?

“These are two completely different things. I wanted to show people that I could score victories both in very cold and very warm waters. We can't compare these two events, because in cold waters one can't swim for more than 15-20 minutes, whereas you can stay and swim much longer in warm waters. I would not like to compare these two extremes. I think that each one of them has its risks and fascinations. ”

In his entire sports career Petar Stoychev covered a distance much longer than the distance around the Equator. Here is what he told Radio Bulgaria about his development in sports.

“I started to practice swimming in 1983 in the town of Smolyan when I was in first grade. I had a thirty-year long career until 2013. As time went by, it became clear that I was more successful at the middle and long distances in the pool - the 400 and 1,500 meter events. I started to participate at the twenty five kilometer and thirty kilometer World Marathon Cup events much later. I also took part at competitions along the rivers in South America with a distance of 57-88 milometers and the events usually lasted for over 5 hours.”

Stoychev specifies that his longest swimming marathon was an eighty eight kilometer event in Parana River (Argentina) and the competition lasted for nearly 10 hours. We asked Stoychev whether he felt lonely during such long-distance events. “You feel lonely and very tired. The water temperature, the waves and the sun also influence negatively. It isn't easy at all, but people should choose a field where they can score success and show their real potential”, renowned Bulgarian swimmer Stoychev concluded.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov