BCT Gdynia Marathon
From Openwaterpedia
It is organized by Mikołaj Nałęcz- Nieniewski and Paulina Olczyk with the assistance of Tomasz Pąchalski, Marathon`s Sport Director.
Contents |
BCT Gdynia Marathon
The BCT Gdynia Marathon is 19.5 km marathon swim between Hel and Gdynia in Poland. The event is organised and sponsored by Baltic Container Terminal in Gdynia. It is held annually in late August. The total pool of prizes amounts to US$28,000, including two first-place cash awards of US$10,000 for the overall female and male winners. The event`s participant limit is 15.
Gdynia is a large coastal city in Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea. Hel Peninsula is a long 35 km sand bar separating the Bay of Puck from the open sea. Average water temperature varies between 16 and 18ºC, which makes the race very demanding.
"The BCT Gdynia Marathon is the first of its kind - a major open water swimming event - in Poland for a long time. We would like to invite open water swimmers from all over Europe and other continents as well," explained Pąchalski. "Our priority is safety of our competitor, so we decided to limit the field 35 athletes. The expected temperature of the water is rather low (16-18°C), so it very important to have experienced open water swimmers."
The event also includes an open race of 2.95 km and a 4×200m relay race to be held on 25 August 2013.
History
BCT Gdynia Marathon recalls tradition of open water swimming marathons that took place in the 1960s and early 1970s in the Bay of Gdansk. In 2011 pilot edition was held, with 3.5 km long route and over 50 participants. Experience gained from organising the race led to decision to hold full, 10 mile long, swim between Hel Peninsula and city of Gdynia in 2012 and a longer 19.5 km race in 2013.
Event Information
Date: 23-25.08.2013 (decision will be made according to weather conditions)
Website: BCT Gdynia Marathon
Class: Pro with shorter race for less experienced swimmers
Wetsuit: Yes (see event`s statute for detailed info)
Type: Sea
Length: 20 km (18,5 in 2012)
2013 Edition
BCT Gdynia Marathon 2013 was announced in March 2013 and will take place on the weekend between 23rd and 25th of August. Apart from main race, shorter swim will be held on route not exceeding 3 km, to allow less experienced open water swimmers to compete. Application forms can be found on competition website.
2012 Contestants
Women:
1. Pilar Geijo (Argentina)
2. Nicoletta Simonazzi (Italy)
3. Mallory Mead (USA)
4. Christine Jennings (USA)
5. Vanesa Garcia (Argentina)
6. Megan Melgaard (USA)
7. Natalia Charlos (Poland)
Men:
1. Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria)
2. Trent Grimsey (Australia)
3. Chris Bryan (Ireland)
4. Benjamin Konschak (Germany)
5. Krzysztof Pielowski (Poland)
6. Grzegorz Monczak (Poland)
8. Sebastian Karaś (Poland)
9. Jan Urbaniak (Poland)
2012 Results
1. Petar Stoychev
2. Trent Grimsey
3. Christine Jennings
4. Natalia Charlos
5. Benjamin Konschak
6. Pilar Geijo
7. Chris Bryan
8. Krzysztof Pielowski
9. Sebastian Karaś
10. Megan Melgaard
11. Jan Urbaniak
12. Mallory Mead
13. Grzegorz Radomski
14. Grzegorz Monczak
Prize Money
US$28,000 total and US$10,000 for the first place in both the men and women's category
Sponsor
With a current annual handling capacity of some 750.000 TEUs, and a potential capacity of 1.2m TEUs, the Port of Gdynia's Baltic Container Terminal (BCT) is the leading container terminal in Poland and one of the largest in the Baltic region.
2007 record-breaking result - 493 860 TEUs, consolidates and places BCT in the top 3 container terminals in the Baltic region overall.
Contact
Name: Tomasz Pąchalski, Marathon`s Sport Director
Email: maraton@bctgdyniamarathon.eu
Phone: +48 600 365 944.
External links
- BCT Gdynia Marathon entry form and regulations
- BCT Gdynia Marathon website
- Poland Pays Plenty
- Fast Open Water Swimmers Headed to Poland
- BCT Gdynia Marathon Race
- Petar Stoychev Wins $10G At BCT Gdynia Marathon
- List Of Marathon Swims Around The World
- Marathon Swimming
- World Open Water Swimming Association
- Open Water Swimming website
- Daily News of Open Water Swimming
- International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame
- More Than 28,000 Reasons To Head To Poland
