Martin Strel Completes Grand Canyon Swim

What do you do for fun when you've already swum most of the major rivers in the world including the Amazon? How about a dip in 46 degree water for 19 miles down the Grand Canyon? (Best feature ... no anacondas or piranha)

Extreme swimmer, and favorite extreme swimmer hero highlighted in this blog, Martin Strel has another fin to add to his back with this accomplishment.

Link to Martin's web site and lots of pictures.

Martin Strel Announces His Next Challenge

Just finished listening to Martin Strel on a BBC audio stream (listen here) discuss his Guinness World Record breaking Amazon swim where he swam the infamous stretch of water from end to end. Martin's portion of the clip runs for about 10 minutes, beginning at about the 11:30 mark.

Featured in the BBC discussion, Martin talks about what started him swimming in the first place (sad story here); why he prefers swimming in fresh water over salt water (I figured the latter would be easier ... he says no and why); How the Amazon swim was his dream accomplishment (no surprise there); what he thinks got him through the Amazon swim alive and kept safe (touching story); how the whole trip came to a near disaster on the final day (didn't know this and I've followed this guy every day during the swim); the diseases he caught; his 24/hr a day elixir (this still makes me laugh); how swimming is a mind game; how long he took to recover; and most exciting ... his next challenge.

Well worth the listen!

Feesh Mawn wins one for Hollywood !

The documentary called "Big River Man", which featured Martin Strel's (also known as the "Feesh Mawn" by his fans) amazing swim down the Amazon River has won an award for cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival. Here's the entire list of winners. Scroll down to see "Big River Man".

Congratulations guys!

Martin Strel Goes Hollywood

I haven't posted much on Martin Strel in a while. If you are out of touch on my fascination with Martin ... he's the guy who among other minor achievements, swam the Amazon from the Andes to the Atlantic two summers ago. Anyhow, they made a movie about it and it is to be shown at the Sundance Film Festival later this month - I'm guessing documentary?

If you have missed any of the posts I've put up about Martin here's a great article that tells you all about him and fills in a lot of detail I may have missed. You can see my posts by searching my site with "Martin Strel".

Martin Strel Recognized Among Giants

What do Al Gore, Jacques Yves Cousteau, Prince Albert of Monocco and Sir Edmund Hillary have in common with swimmers? Martin Strel! The first three have been recipients of the Honour of Ekotopfilm in Slovakia - now adding Martin to the list.

But that's not all. Strel, famed swimmer of the Amazon, has joined the likes of several polar explorers, scientists and adventurers including world famous Sir Edmund Hillary in receiving Poland's Explorer Award.

I'm glad to see Martin's accomplishments are getting the world wide recognition they deserve.

Martin Strel - New Book Out + Update On His Health

I got an email today (weee!) from the AmazonSwim newsletter people. It had good news and some kind of icky bad news. I could never do it justice, so below is a good chunk of it - straight from the newsletter. I encourage everyone to pray for the Feeesh Mawn's speedy recovery. Meanwhile, I'll be getting my copy of the book real soon. PS I need to add Amazon River to my swimming goals (pool laps, of course).

"Hello to all of Martin’s fans. Martin had to seek medical care last week after he was diagnosed with parasitic flatworms in his bloodstream. It took five months for the little guys to set up camp in his veins and lay eggs before the symptoms were noticed. He’s been treated with some heavy antibiotics and is now feeling better.

The Man who Swam the Amazon, Martin’s book, is now available. If you enjoyed our website, you will hear many inside stories from the expedition that were never told on our website, including a lot of behind the scenes stuff.

The book is already climbing the charts in the outdoor adventure category and is now on sale at Amazon. They are doing a preorder special for the next few days, selling the book at $11.53, currently the best price available anywhere as it normally sells for $16.95 ..."

To find the book on Amazon.com click here.

Amazon Dolphins

You may recall from Martin Strel's Amazon Swim (see Amazonswim.com) some posts and comments about dolphins that accompanied him from time to time. Unless you went to the part of the site which showed the pictures, you might have had your typical Flipper (dolphin hero from the 1960's TV show) in mind. Here are some pictures of the endangered Amazon dolphins. You'll note they don't quite match the TV version.

Martin Recovering

Martin Strel is better and now recovering from his health scare at the end of his trip. He is staying in a Belem hotel recovering from it all. His site reports he was in near critical condition upon completion of his trip and at risk of a heart attack following a six mile swim to the Brazilian city following completion of his record setting journey. His personal physician who has helped throughout the trip is taking care of him. If swimming the total length of the Amazon didn't harm him, I'd like to think a heart attack could never kill this guy. Glad all is looking up.

Martin Strel Finishes Amazon Swim!

It is with great excitement that we can announce that Martin Strel has completed his world record setting swim (not that he hasn't done that before) down the Amazon River (that, he hasn't done that before, nor has any man). This is a photo from his trip tracking site which shows him arriving at his destination in Belem, Brazil. That's him in the water with his arms raised in victory (you can click on the picture to enlargen it). He was greeted with huge fanfare upon arrival but naturally exhausted was soon on a stretcher with a flag draped around him. His web site, Amazonswim.com is reporting that he is currently experiencing extreme physical stress - with extreme blood pressure readings. Paramedics are reported to be working to "stabilize" him. We're still with you Martin! Remember, you the "Feeesh Mawn"! This blog will continue to provide updates on Martin's condition as we get word. For more immediate news, go to amazonswim.com.

Martin Strel Nearing Finish

Martin Strel is on track to finish his Amazon swim on Saturday. He's covered over 5400km since February 1st! Tidal swells are forcing a change in the routine and cutting daily progress down considerably. Now he swims twice a day to work with the tides. There are also reports he has had chronic dehydration and some delirium - probably due to the sea water - and another less pleasant, more Amazonian type malady called cutaneous larvae infection. If I researched that right, its a hookworm thing in the skin. Good thing Martin's almost through. It appears he's mortal. I almost forgot!

Martin Strel Streamcasts Now Available

You can now check out Martin Strel's Amazon Swim in a streamcast! Visit Martin's official AmazonSwim.com web site to see some great stills (also a great way to check out what the Amazon communities and culture really look like, today). His site is reporting that he's half way now and reportedly cranky at the end of some of his twelve hour, 75+ km swims. Who wouldn't be? Keep your chin up Martin! We're with you guy - all the way!

I'm adding the streamcast link to the blogroll here so you can check out Martin's progress whenever you visit.