Avram Iancu, a Romanian librarian turned endurance swimmer, famous for his feats, managed to swim across the English Channel on Monday, August 17, using the breaststroke style. After the crossing, he said he had faced an “absolutely exhausting” challenge, describing it as the toughest swimming experience of his entire career.

“My strength is not my merit, but a gift from God, for which I thank Him! By far, this was the hardest and most difficult swim of my entire career. I am simply collapsed,” Iancu said after the crossing, which lasted 24 hours and 46 minutes. 

The swimmer from Petroșani pointed out that this was his third time across the Channel, following his successful crossings in 2016 and 2024, using the crawl stroke. This year's crossing, however, was especially difficult.

“I went through absolutely every state: almost unbearable physical pain and psychological torment that I don’t even want to talk about anymore. This breaststroke style is very, very difficult,” Avram Iancu told Agerpres.

The multisport athlete from Petroșani is the tenth man to swim across the English Channel using the breaststroke. The last crossing was registered 11 years ago. Through this swim, which took place without a wetsuit, librarian Avram Iancu also aimed to mark his 50th birthday. 

The athlete’s record includes swimming the length of the Danube in 2017, covering a distance of 2,860 kilometers, from its source to its mouth into the Black Sea.

In July 2022, Iancu became the first Romanian to swim across the Bristol Channel, in Great Britain. A year later, he swam the length of the Rhine River, and in August 2025, the Main Canal in Germany, between the Rhine and Danube rivers. He also swam across Israel’s Sea of Galilee. 

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Avram Iancu on Facebook video capture)