Bengisu Avci
Bengisu Avci is a 28-year-old Turkish pool and open water swimmer and open water swimming coach from İzmir on the Aegean Sea.
Open Water Swimming Highlights
- She was in the film Don't Be Prey, appearing as herself.
- On 4 August 2025, she completed the Oceans Seven.
- On 3 August 2018, she completed a 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel in 11 hours 29 minutes as the fastest female English Channel swimmer of Turkey.
- On 26 September 2022, She become the First Turkish woman to complete the 32.3 km crossing of the Catalina Channel from Santa Catalina Island to the Palos Verdes Peninsula in 11 hours 59 minutes.
- On 24 April 2023 she completed a 14.4 km crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco, setting a Turkish national record in 3 hours 24 minutes 29 seconds at the age of 27.
- On 13 February 2024, she completed a 23 km crossing of the Cook Strait from South Island to North Island in New Zealand in 10 hours 40 minutes 52 seconds at the age of 27.
- On 19 October 2024, she completed a 42.2 km crossing of the Molokai Channel from Molokai Island to Oahu in 12 hours 10 minutes at the age of 27.
- On 19 July 2025, she completed a 35 km crossing of the North Channel from from Donaghadee in Northern Ireland to Portpatrick, Scotland in 10 hours 0 minutes 20 seconds at the age of 28.
- On 4 August 2025, she completed a 19.5 km crossing of the Tsugaru Channel from Aomori Prefecture to Hokkaido in northern Japan in 14 hours 30 minutes at the age of 28 under the escort of Captain Yoshimi Kawayama, Deputy Captain Norihito Ota, observer Yuka Ito, and observer Toshinori Miyakoshi.
- On 14 May 2025, she gave a TED Talk at Yaşar University on the Oceans Seven.
- On 14 December 2024, she won the 1000m freestyle at the Amsterdam Ice Swim at the age of 28.
- She first competed at 200m and 400m freestyle, then she changed to longer distances from 5 km to 10 km.
- She has won several championship titles in Turkey.
- She was a member of the Turkish national swimming team and has represented Turkey in LEN Cup and European Junior Championships between 2011 and 2015.
- She competes on the International Winter Swimming Association circuit.
- She competed in the IISA 1st European Championship in Oradea, Romania on 4 February 2024 in the 50m and 100m breaststroke and 50m butterfly events in 4.07°C.
- In 2017, she attempted to swim the English Channel, ending her swim due to hypothermia after 7 hours.
- On 3 June 2023, she completed the 45.9 km 20 Bridges circumnavigation swim and Manhattan Island in New York City in 8 hours 19 minutes 3 seconds to become the first female from Turkey to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.
- On 13 May 2024 with 15 km to go across the Molokai Channel in Hawaii, she was hit by jellyfish and had to abort her 45 channel crossing attempt.
Oceans Seven Swimmers
1st: Stephen Redmond (Ireland)
2nd: Anna-Carin Nordin (Sweden)
3rd: Michelle Macy (USA)
4th: Darren Miller (USA)
5th: Adam Walker (UK)
6th: Kimberley Chambers (New Zealand)
7th: Antonio Argüelles (Mexico)
8th: Ion Lazarenco Tiron (Moldavia/Ireland)
9th: Rohan Dattatrey More (India)
10th: Abhejali Bernardová (Czech Republic)
11th: Cameron Bellamy (South Africa)
12th: Lynton Mortensen (Australia)
13th: Thomas Pembroke (Australia)
14th: Nora Toledano Cadena (Mexico)
15th: Mariel Hawley Davila (Mexico)
16th: André Wiersig (Germany)
17th: Elizabeth Fry (USA)
18th: Attila Mányoki (Hungary)
19th: Jonathan Ratcliffe (UK)
20th: Jorge Crivilles Villanueva (Spain)
21st: Adrian Sarchet (Guernsey)
22nd: Prabhat Koli (India)
23rd: Dina Levačić (Croatia)
24th: Herman van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
25th: Andy Donaldson (Scotland)
26th: Stephen Junk (Australia)
27th: Kieron Palframan (South Africa)
28th: Bárbara Hernández Huerta (Chile)
29th: Mark Sowerby (Australia)
30th: Paul Georgescu (Romania)
31st: Zach Margolis (USA)
32nd: Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria)
33rd: Nathalia Pohl (Germany)
34th: Caitlin O’Reilly (New Zealand at the age of 20 years 7 months 15 days)
35th: Ryan Utsumi (USA)
36th: Marcia Cleveland (USA)
37th: Eduardo Collazos Valle-Guayo (Peru)
38th: Rob Woodhouse (Australia)
39th: Alessandra Cima (Brazil)
40th: Bengisu Avci (Turkey)
External links
- Paul Leonard Swims Around The World With Sharks and Siblings
- One Day To Change Your Life – Mark Sowerby Experienced Many
- Bengisu Avci Goes Seven To Complete The Oceans Seven
- Marathon Swimmers Federation bio
- Bengisu Avci Swims North En Route To Hokkaido
- Bengisu Acvi Joins Open Water Luminaries Giving TED Talks
- Egor Tropeano, Bengisu Avci Reflect on Molveno, Molokai, and Global Crosses and Challenges
- Egor Tropeano Returns to Molveno After 20 Years to Win IISA World Championship
- International Ice Swimming Association bio
- Joseba Aingeru, Bengisu Avci Win Ice Kilometer at the Amsterdam Ice Swim
- Molokai Magic: Pattick Autissier and Bengisu Avcı Make It
- Oceans Seven Rivalry: Aysu Türkoğlu versus Bengisu Avcı
- Social Media Influencers in the Open Water versus the Pool, A Comparison on Instagram
- Social Media Influencers in the Open Water: Who’s Who on Instagram
- Bengisu Avci Encounters Jellyfish in the Molokai Channel
- Bengisu Avci Traveling The World En Route To The Oceans Seven
- @bengisavci
- International Ice Swimming Association bio
- Marathon Swimmers Federation bio
- Bengisu Avcı prepares to spice up New Zealand's Cook Strait
- Bengisu Avci becomes 1st Turkish swimmer to cross New Zealand's Cook Strait
