Open water swimmer Avram Iancu receives Triple Crown of Rivers Stage Swims Challenge distinction

Open water swimmer Avram Iancu received the world's first "Triple Crown of Rivers Stage Swims Challenge" distinction, after swimming over 500 kilometres along the route linking the Rhine and the Danube via the Main-Danube Canal.

The Romanian successfully swam across Europe without a neoprene suit, and the 'World's First Triple Crown of Rivers Stage Swims' officially confirmed his achievement.

'I am delighted to announce that, after 23 days of verifications, the World Open Water Swimming Federation has officially ratified the project ‘Swimming for a United Europe,' part of which I swam, without a neoprene suit, the 556 km of the connecting route between the Rhine and the Danube, via the Main-Danube Canal. I have thus become, officially, the first person in the world to swim across a continent: from the North Sea to the Black Sea, following the famous waterway: Rhine-Main-Danube,' swimmer Avram Iancu posted Tuesday on Facebook.

According to the official ratification, the Romanian has swum a total distance of over 4,400 km, broken down into several stages since 2017, crossing Europe from the Black Sea to the North Sea.

Avram Iancu, a librarian by profession, was honoured by the local authorities in Petrosani, his hometown, for his accomplishment in swimming the Main Canal in Germany, connecting the Rhine and Danube rivers, an achievement that, according to the athlete, earns him the title of the first person to swim across Europe.