ULTRA marathon swimmer Bengisu Avcı swam past Molakai, one of the Ocean Seven stages, and became the first Turkish female athlete to achieve this.
Bengisu Avcı, who is on her way to completing the Ocean Seven, successfully passed the Molakai stage, which she abandoned two hours before the end last May due to contact with jellyfish.
The swimmer from Izmir, who had to get on the boat due to contact with jellyfish in his first attempt, made his second attempt on the same course five months later. Bengisu Avcı, who started swimming in the ocean from Molakai at 05.28 in the morning, passed the approximately 42-kilometer course in 12 hours and 10 minutes and arrived in Hawaii.
Bengisu Avcı, who had previously swam the English Channel, Catalina, Cook Strait and Gibraltar, thus became the first female athlete to pass five of the Ocean Seven courses. If the swimmer from Izmir passes the Northern Channel (Ireland-Scotland) and Tsugaru (Japan), he will become the first Turkish athlete to complete the Ocean Seven. The transition attempt times of the last two channels have not been determined yet.
‘THE OCEAN IS TOUGH, BUT WE ARE A LITTLE STUBBORN TOO’
Bengisu Avcı, who said “The ocean is tough but we are a little stubborn too” after the Cook Strait passage, attempted three channel crossings in five months. The athlete, who attempted the Molakai crossing in May and the North Channel last September, showed once again how stubborn he is. Bengisu Avcı said, “The ocean is where I find myself. I feel as free and peaceful as possible in the water. I think that I am guiding the Turkish women who come after me with every stroke and I continue to swim stubbornly. I would like to thank my sponsor Sidrex, a food supplement brand from Izmir, who supported me in my transitions.” ” he said.
