Turkish swimmer Aysu Turkoglu completes Cook Strait crossing in 7 hours, 21 minutes
Turkoglu, 22, completes 3rd stage of dream achievement, Oceans Seven
Turkish open water swimmer Aysu Turkoglu
MUGLA, Türkiye
Turkish open water swimmer Aysu Turkoglu completed the Cook Strait crossing Wednesday in New Zealand in 07:21:40.
Turkoglu, who entered the water at about 0600GMT, managed to cross the 27-kilometer (17-mile) challenging course in the dark.
The 22-year-old unfurled the Turkish flag and celebrated with her fans who followed her live on social media.
Turkoglu, who became the youngest Turk to swim the English Channel in 16:28 on July 30, 2022, also swam the 40-kilometer North Channel in 11:48:19 on Aug. 9, 2023, and was the "first Turkish woman and the youngest Turkish athlete" to do so.
She has completed the third stage of her dream achievement, Oceans Seven -- a marathon challenge consisting of seven open water channel swims: The North Channel, Cook Strait, Molokaʻi Channel, English Channel, Catalina Channel, Tsugaru Strait and the Strait of Gibraltar.
*Writing by Selcuk Bugra Gokalp
