Polish swimmer crosses Baltic Sea non-stop from Sweden to Poland

Polish athlete Bartlomiej Kubkowski has become the first person in history to swim across the Baltic Sea from Sweden to Poland without ever leaving the water. The journey, covering roughly 160 kilometers, took him 55 hours, during which he neither exited the sea nor allowed himself to sleep.

The swim began in the Swedish town of Koseberga and ended on August 2, when an exhausted but self-propelled Kubkowski reached the beach at Dziwnów in northwestern Poland. For the feat to count as an official record, he had to complete the entire route under his own power, without touching or climbing onto the support boats that accompanied him — these only supplied food, medical monitoring and navigational assistance.

Fifth attempt proves the charm

This was Kubkowski's fifth attempt at the grueling distance. During his previous attempt in 2025, his team had to pull him from the water unconscious when he was just 11 kilometers from the Polish coast.

After reaching the finish, the swimmer said he was so exhausted that he could not yet fully grasp what he had accomplished.

A swim for charity

The challenge carried a broader purpose as well. Through this historic swim, Kubkowski managed to raise nearly 600,000 Polish zlotys — approximately 140,000 euros — for Cancer Fighters, an organization that supports children battling cancer.