Librarian Avram Iancu swimming entire length of Danube's Sfantu Gheorghe branch, about 110km

Librarian Avram Iancu of Petrosani, the Romanian who has swum the Danube from its headwaters to its mouth without a protective suit or swimming aids has started a race today across the entire length of the Sfantu Gheorghe branch of the Danube.

In the almost 110 km race dedicated to friendship, Iancu is accompanied by two kayakers, Calin Ene and Adrian Moroianu, and at the end, in the village of Sfantu Gheorghe, the swimmer will be greeted by other kayakers from Romania who will compete on Saturday in a new edition of the Delta Kayak Race.

"In 2017, when I swam the entire length of the Danube River for the first time in the world without a neoprene suit, I obviously fell in love with the river. When I finished in Sulina, at km 0 of the Danube, a worthy teacher from Sulina suggested me to swim all the river's branches especially because I bragged to my colleagues on the continent that in Romania the Danube flows into the sea through a fabulous delta. I have embraced the idea and now it's time to swim the Sfantu Gheorge branch," Iancu told AGERPRES.

He started the race on the bank of the Danube in Tuilcea, opposite Ceatal Sfantu Gheorghe, saying that next year he wants to swim the Chilia branch as well.

Librarian Avram Iancu is known for his sporting performances. He also swam the English Channel in August 2016. The list of successes includes the crossing the Black Sea in the fall of 2018, when he swam 680 kilometres along the coast, from Sulina to Istanbul, 60 days in all.