Polish swimmer Bartłomiej Kubkowski became the first person to cross the Baltic Sea by swimming from Sweden to Poland. He covered about 160 kilometres in 55 hours, spending more than two days in the water without sleep. For the achievement to be officially recognised, Kubkowski had to leave the water on his own and could not receive physical assistance from the escort boat.
This was his fifth attempt. In 2022, he stopped after 115 kilometres, and in 2025 he swam about 159 kilometres but ended the attempt due to total exhaustion, around 15 kilometres from the Polish shore. Before the new attempt, the athlete stepped up his preparation: he trained extensively for endurance, worked on psychological resilience and carefully planned his nutrition strategy.
Kubkowski dedicated his finish to the beneficiaries of the Cancer Fighters foundation, for whom funds were being raised during the swim. The athlete already holds a world record in 24-hour swimming, but crossing the Baltic was the main challenge of his career.
