IDEAS
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SLOVENIA
WIZZ MAGAZINE
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31
D
ubbed the ‘fishman’,61-year-old
MartinStrel hasdefieddeath
onnumerousoccasions.Unlikeother
athletes, hedrinks twobottlesofwine
aday, has thephysiqueof a small sumo
wrestlerand looksasmuch likea
professional swimmeras JackBlack in
Speedos.Butunlikeotherathletes, he
holds fiveGuinnessWorldRecords for
swimming the lengthsof theDanube,
theMississippi, theYangtzeand the
AmazonRiver. “I’mnotMichael Jordan
orMichael Phelps, but I’mhappy,” says
thepowerhouse.
Taking theperilsof thesemighty rivers
inhis stride, he’sbeenviolently sickdue
to swimming thepollutedwatersof the
Yangtzebut completed the route regard-
less, andpaddled through thepira-
nha-infestedwatersof theAmazon (his
secretwas tohavehiscrewpourbuckets
ofblood into thewater sohecouldpass
safely, overlooking theoccasional nip).
Onceagain, he’ll defy the lawsofnature
in thenameof “peace, friendshipand
cleanwaters”onhismostdangerous
challengeyet– to swimnearlyall the
world’soceans, through109countries,
over38,000km in470days.
Some sayMartinStrel isborderline
insane, others saywhenhe’s inhis rubber
suithebecomesa superhero, buthis
driving force isclear– tomonitor the
world’soceans. “I’ma littlepolitician, I’m
adiplomat,” saysStrel,whohasmingled
and swumwith someof themost
powerful peopleon theplanet. “The
Romanianprimeminister swamwith
me,”explainsStrel, beforedropping into
theconversation thathe’sdinedwith the
Trumps. “MelaniaTrump, fromSlovenia,
wasmyneighbour,”he says. “I’dalso like
to swimwith theRussianpresidentPutin
and theKoreanpresident. I inviteDavid
Cameron to swimwithme, and the
BritishRoyal Family; theprinces,”Strel
addswithawink.
