Swimming 131 km in 61 hours: Matthieu Bonne surprises again with new record
For three days and two nights, Matthieu Bonne fought his way through the water. The lifeguard of the Lago Olympia swimming pool in Bruges was not allowed to sleep according to the rules. The record previously held by Maltese Olympian Neil Agius is now Belgian.
At 10 o’clock this morning there was already 110 kilometers on the counter. On his third day he was able to put the last kilometers on it. The pace slowed as his body had to make more and more effort but he didn’t give up. The salt water left him with severely swollen lips and a parched tongue. Saturday morning the estimated hour to pass the record was still 20 hours, but the redeeming news took a little longer.
The final work
“A very strong wind has picked up again, so the last eight kilometers will undoubtedly be the toughest,” said guide Matthias Lievens a few hours before the finish. Then his team also made the decision not to continue the record attempt longer than necessary and not to make an extra loop.
“The cold in particular has surprisingly become a very big enemy,” says Lievens. “We aimed for a water temperature between 26 and 27 degrees. The first 24 to 30 hours that was a lot less and that cold has remained in his body.” So Bonne has different memories of his adventure in Greece than most tourists.
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Team announces world record on Instagram
Across the Gulf of Corinth
On Thursday morning, he plunged into the water at the western end of the Gulf of Corinth in Greece. He crossed that sea almost completely from West to East. At the start of the journey, his entourage estimated that it would take Bonne between 48 and 72 hours to reach his goal. In the end, he clocks off within time.
He set his record without any technical aids. Occasionally a swimmer was allowed to flank him. The rules stipulated that a fellow swimmer can only follow him for an hour, after which Bonne must again swim alone for an hour. An eight-person team worked around him, supplying food ashore or from the sailboat and kayak or ensuring that he remained healthy.
In March, Bonne covered the most kilometers ever on a bicycle in seven days. In their series of impressive records, he replaces Karel Sabbe, who set the fastest time on the extreme American running route Pacific Crest Trail exactly one week ago. Just like the dentist from Anzegem during the Barkley Marathons, Bonne went so deep that he even had to hallucinate.
Look at here the course that Matthieu Bonne has covered.