Last year Bulgaria’s athlete Tsanko Tsankov swam the 44.7 kilometer-long distance from Cape Emine to Cape Maslen Nos and became the only athlete who swam the water section of Burgas Bay. Now, he has another dream- to overcome a test beyond human physical capabilities.

On August 22, 2020, Tsanko Tsankov became the first man on Earth who managed to swim more than 50 kilometers without interruption. He began swimming in the 50-meter pool at Flora swimming complex at 7.30 am and twelve hours later, he swam 50.6 kilometers. The previous swimming record belonged to Slovenia’s long-distance swimmer Martin Strel who swam 41.2 kilometers.

The thirty-three-year-old champion believes that he was born with a strong psyche. He managed to develop his psyche over the years in long trainings and a series of competitions. In his view, his psyche, in combination with exhausting daily workout in an outdoor pool under the hot sun, have contributed a lot to his incredible sports achievement.

“At times I felt that time in the pool was passing very quickly, although I was swimming monotonously- Tsanko Tsankov told Radio Bulgaria.- I was able to maintain very high concentration-there were many things to think about while swimming. I was thinking about the pace, the swimming technique and was always trying to keep up with the world record time. Well, in some short moments I imagined my victory, the world record and the pleasure I would feel if I managed to break the record.”

This is the time when physical capabilities reach their limit and the psyche takes control of the situation.

“The difficult moment began when I swam half of the distance- the Bulgarian swimmer adds.- My body suffered several heavy shocks, because human physics and psyche are very much connected.”

However, Tsanko Tsankov did not think even for a moment that he would fail. “I believed from the very beginning that this world record is entirely within my capabilities. I knew it and was absolutely confident that I was capable of breaking the record”, Tsanko pointed out.

“If you set a goal, you can achieve it, as long as you are ready to pay the price and this applies to all areas of life-Tsanko Tsankov says. - And the price for such an achievement is very high. It requires long hours of training and many depravations. Moreover, you have to go to bed early and wake up early in the morning. I had many difficulties during the training, including financial difficulties, because a whole team stands behind a world record.”

The big champion has not celebrated his recent victory yet. However, he is now aiming at his next big goal- to become the first man on the planet who swims the dangerous Strait of Gibraltar.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov

Photos: BTA