K19’s Relationship With The Bering Strait Swim

Oleg Adamov was one of the swimmers on the Bering Strait Swim. While he was part of history with the 6-day 53-mile (86 km) relay crossing from Cape Dezhnev in Russia to Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska, he was also part of history in another setting.

Captain Adamov was the last commanding officer on the K19 submarine between 1997 and 2001 and a consultant on the movie K19-The Widowmaker starring Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson. The K19 was the submarine that averted a nuclear explosion when 8 crew members died after a reactor failure on board in 1961. The movie reportedly cost US$100 million to produce and was one of the most expensive independent films in the United States.

Captain Adamov had come to Loch Ness in Scotland in 2011 to help organize a swim in honour of the K19 servicemen with a team of Russian and British submariners and included Bering Strait Swim participant Victor Moskvin.

The Bering Strait Swim involved 121 individuals (listed here) who ranged from swimmers and physicians to kite surfers and administrators. The most dangerous open water swim in history where 66 swimmers rotated different legs in water temperature between 2.5-10°C is nominated for the 2013 World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year.

Photos show Oleg Adamov, Victor Moskvin, Nuala Moore, Anne Marie Ward.

Copyright © 2013 by World Open Water Swimming Association