Romanian Avram Iancu becomes world’s first winner of ‘Triple Crown of Rivers Stage Swims Challenge’

Romanian long-distance swimmer Avram Iancu announced that he has been officially recognized as the first person in the world to complete the “Triple Crown of Rivers Stage Swims Challenge,” after covering more than 4,400 kilometers across Europe’s major waterways without a wetsuit.

The World Open Water Swimming Federation ratified the achievement this week, confirming Iancu’s latest 556-kilometer swim along Germany’s Main-Danube Canal between the Rhine and the Danube. The feat formed the final part of a multi-year effort that has seen him swim from the North Sea to the Black Sea.

“I am proud to announce that I have become the first person in the world to swim across a continent,” Iancu wrote on Facebook.

Avram Iancu began the challenge in 2017 with an 89-day, 2,860-kilometer swim along the Danube. He followed it with 1,032 kilometers on the Rhine in 2023, before completing the final stretch this summer in 40 days. In total, he spent 177 days in the water to cover 4,448 kilometers, all without protective gear.

The World Open Water Swimming Federation praised the Romanian athlete for completing what it called one of the toughest open water challenges in the world.

“On behalf of the World Open Water Swimming Federation, it is my honor to congratulate you on achieving your unprecedented goal of completing the Triple Crown of Rivers Stage Swims from June 29 to August 8, 2025, when you completed the 556 km stage swim along the Main River and Danube Canal,” reads the official ratification document.

“You have established yourself as one of Romania’s sporting heroes and humanitarians to defining an extremely difficult stage swim for a greater purpose, conveying the message that Romania is Europe,” the same source said.

Avram Iancu’s long-distance swims have often carried symbolic meaning. In 2017, he swam the entire length of the Danube to mark a decade since Romania joined the European Union. In 2023, he swam the Rhine from Konstanz in 48 days to support Romania’s bid to join the Schengen Area, a challenge also officially recognized by the World Open Water Swimming Federation.

*Correction [September 16, 2025]: An earlier version of this article stated that Avram Iancu’s 2017 Danube swim was ratified by the World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA). In a statement to Romania Insider, the association clarified, “WOWSA has no documentation reflecting the ratification of this swim. It may have been acknowledged under previous leadership, but today WOWSA and its Ratification Committee have confirmed that the swim is not recognized, nor has it been ratified by any independent organization.”