Polish swimmer Bartłomiej Kubkowski completes first nonstop Baltic Sea crossing

Bartłomiej Kubkowski became the first person to swim the Baltic Sea nonstop, covering about 160 km from Kåseberga, Sweden, to Dziwnów, Poland in roughly 55 hours. The achievement, reached on 2 August 2026 after five attempts, was performed without sleep or direct contact with the support boat, and required the athlete to endure water temperatures near five °C, strong currents and hallucinations after 40 hours. The swim was part of the Ultra Baltic Swim project and raised around 850 000 zlotys (≈200 000 EUR) for the Cancer Fighters foundation. International media responded strongly: the IMM monitoring service recorded 661 articles in 30 languages across 62 countries within three days, with Italy publishing the most pieces. Italian outlets quoted Kubkowski saying, “Jestem tak zmęczony, że nawet nie wiem, co czuję” (I’m so tired I don’t even know what I feel). The feat also highlighted his status as a world‑record holder in 24‑hour swimming and a multiple‑time medalist at national and world championships.