Bartłomiej Kubkowski becomes first person to swim across the Baltic Sea, covering over 160 km in 55 hours

The arrival

Bartłomiej Kubkowski walked out of the Baltic Sea onto the beach at Dziwnów (Kamień County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship) around 20:00 on Sunday, 2 August 2026, after roughly 55 hours of uninterrupted swimming. Crowds of supporters gathered on the shore to greet him. To officially complete the challenge, he had to exit the water under his own power and stand on the beach, which he did. When asked immediately afterward how it felt, he replied he was so exhausted he did not yet know.

I'm so tired I still don't know.

The route and the rules

Kubkowski departed from the Swedish locality of Kaseberga on Friday, 31 July. The distance covered is reported as over 160 kilometres; one source puts the figure at 170 km. He swam for just under 55 hours without touching the support boat, without resting, and without sleeping. Food and drinks were passed to him from the boat on a special boom. Every pause risked hypothermia, and he had to contend with temperature, currents, waves, and extreme fatigue.

Marcin Cieślak of the Purely Athletic team described the conditions: the swimmer did not touch the boat once, did not rest, did not sleep, and kept swimming stroke after stroke all day. Cieślak explained that crises are unavoidable in such a challenge, especially those linked to sleep deprivation. During the second sleepless night, toxins accumulated in the brain, hallucinations appeared, and Kubkowski periodically lost consciousness and contact with reality. The team's professional approach to diet, preparation, and training kept these episodes to a minimum.

During the second sleepless night, toxins build up in the head, hallucinations often occur, and it was precisely those that caused Bartek to sometimes lose consciousness and contact with reality. However, the team approached the whole challenge so professionally in terms of diet, earlier preparation, and training that it was limited to a minimum.

Five years of attempts

This was Kubkowski's fifth attempt. His first, in 2022, ended after 32 hours and 115 km. The following year he covered just under two kilometres more. In 2023, difficult conditions forced a stop after slightly over 70 km. The most dramatic attempt came in 2025, when he swam 159 km in 53 hours, only 11 km short of the Polish coast, before the challenge was aborted due to loss of consciousness.

Cieślak noted that before this year's start Kubkowski was exceptionally focused compared with earlier attempts. His calm, confidence, and professionalism were visible in the water. The decision to swim was made at the beginning of the year, after which he committed to brutal training: sessions lasting up to a day and a half, night swimming, dozens of kilometres in the pool, plus land-based and mental work.

Before the start Bartek was exceptionally focused compared to earlier attempts. You could see it in how he swam. You could see certainty, calm, professionalism, experience. It was the fifth attempt, and each time he learned something new. In this attempt he gathered all that experience into one pool of focus and used it effectively.

Charity dimension

Throughout the crossing, a fundraiser ran for the Cancer Fighters foundation, which supports oncology patients and their families with financial, organisational, and psychological help. By the time Kubkowski reached the shore, close to 670,000 złoty had been donated; one earlier report cited over 560,000 złoty, and another mentioned nearly 600,000 złoty. Marek Kopyść, president and founder of the foundation, watched the finish live in the TVN24 studio. He recalled that Kubkowski had volunteered on a paediatric oncology ward years earlier, bringing a smile and positive energy.

We once had a slogan that 'a diagnosis is not a sentence, but an impulse to show your inner strength.' That inner strength is often in a person in a difficult situation, and so it was here with Bartek. A difficult situation and he made it.

Kopyść expects to meet the swimmer once he has recovered, estimating that catching up on sleep will take four to five days.

Another swimmer on the Baltic

Kubkowski was not alone on the water. Polish swimmer Karolina Szczepaniak is also crossing the Baltic Sea, taking a slightly shorter route aimed at the beach in Pobierowo. Her expedition likewise has a charitable purpose, raising funds for the treatment and rehabilitation of 14-year-old Piotr Małolepszy. If she reaches the Polish coast, she will join Kubkowski in the record books as the first woman to swim this demanding Baltic route.