
International Swim Across La Perouse Channel To Start
International Swim Across La Perouse Channel To Start
Courtesy of Aleksandr Brylin, Sakhalin, Russia – Hokkaido, Japan
Speedo diplomacy will be utilized once again by an international team of swimmers.
Pioneering swimmers from Russia, Japan, China and South Africa will attempt an unprecedented 42.8 km relay from Sakhalin, Russia to Hokkaido, Japan called the International Swim across La Perouse Channel this week.
“Our motto is ‘Towards the Sun and Friendship: from birch to sakura’,” explains organizer Aleksandr Brylin. “Between Sakhalin to Hokkaido, the side currents could be up to 8 km per hour for the 25 swimmers who will face water temperature is between 8 – 10°C (46-50°F). We will start the swim on July 18th on Russia’s Cape Krillion and it is scheduled to end on July 21st on Japan’s Cape Soya.
The host of the swim is the Interregional Association of Russian Cold Swimming with the RF MFA support, the government and regional Duma of Sakhalin island, the Ministry of Economic Development and Sport of Sakhalin Island, Association of Polar Explorers, the Rotary Clubs of Yuzhno – Sakhalinsk, Korsakov, and Blagoveschensk, the travel bureau Bi-Tomo, the open water swimming organization Ocean Navi, World Open Water Swimming Association, and the International Ice Swimming Association.”
The International Swim across La Perouse Channel is across La Pérouse Strait or the Sōya Strait, a strait dividing the southern part of the Russian island of Sakhalin from the northern part of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō that connects the Sea of Japan on the west with the Sea of Okhotsk on the east.
La Pérouse Strait is named after Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse, who explored it in 1787.
International Swim across La Perouse Channel Participants:
- Andrei Khapochkin (Russia) organizer
- Aleksandr Bolotnikov (Russia) organizer
- Alekandr Brylin (Russia) organizer
- Iaroslav Brylin (Russia) swimmer
- Viktoriia Brylina (Russia) secretariat
- Serapfim Priest (Russia) swimmer
- Svetlana Kositsina (Russia) swimmer
- Valerii Kuchinskii (Russia) swimmer
- Yang Shengchun (China) swimmer
- Dr. Nataliya Fatyanova (Russia) physician
- Tatiana Alexandrova (Russia) swimmer
- Dr. Irina Zhidkova (Russia) physician
- Andrei Agarkov (Russia) swimmer
- Andrei Mikhalev (Russia) swimmer
- Viktoriia Mikhaleva (Russia) secretariat
- Valentin Sokolov (Russia) translator
- Pavel Seleznev (Aspol) organizer
- Vladimir Skoropupov (Aspol) organizer
- Justin Arnaud Coetzee (South Africa) swimmer
- Timofei Sviatov (Russia) swimmer
- Masayuki Moriya (Japan) swimmer
- Tomonari Ogino (Japan) swimmer
- Andrei Ershov (Russia) rescue swimmer
- Oksana Eletskaia (Russia) swimmer
- Tatiana Gavrilenkova (Russia) swimmer
- Dr. Gennadii Sim (Russia) physician
- Aleksandr Nazin (Russia) media representative
- Aleksander Svinin (Russia) swimmer
- Alexander Konovalov (Russia) rescue swimmer
- Ivan Kazakov (Russia) swimmer
- Victor Fade (Russia) swimmer
- Igor Belanov (Russia) swimmer
- Semen Iarochkin (Russia) swimmer
- Oleg Chekushkin (Russia) swimmer
- Nikolay Petshak (Russia) swimmer
- Dmitrii Pomelov (Russia) rescue swimmer
- Aleksander Iurkov (Russia) swimmer
- Eduard Orlov (Russia) swimmer
- Aleksey Zhdanov (Russia) swimmer
- Shinya Hosokawa (Japan) media representative
- Ekaterina Bushueva (Russia) media representative
- Artem Meleshko (Russia) swimmer
- Evgenii Shevchenko (Russia) swimmer
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Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor – Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame’s Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame’s Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming’s Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University’s John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff.