Guga Chacra, former water polo player and international correspondent, completed a 48-kilometer swimming challenge around Manhattan. The crossing began at 6:30 a.m. on a September Wednesday, at Battery Park, in New York, with the Statue of Liberty in the background and the city's skyline. The course lasted 8 hours and 35 minutes of freestyle swimming.
The challenge is part of the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, which also includes the crossing of the English Channel, between England and France, and the Catalina Channel, in California. Guga described the experience as the fulfillment of a dream he had since moving to the United States in 2005.
He stated he faced "highs and lows until the end" during the long journey. In the months leading up to the challenge, he trained hundreds of kilometers to prepare for the demanding crossing around the island of Manhattan.
