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(theone that swimsupyoururi-
nary tract).Alongwith sunburn,
dehydration, deliriumandhallu-
cinations, Strel hasalso suffered
a larvae infection inhisbrain.
But itwasan injury tohis son
that causedhim themostworry.
“The stingray– that isacrazy
fish,” remembersStrel. “My son
Borutwasbitten in themiddleof
the jungle.Hewasparalysed in
six seconds; hewasdying. Steve
Irwinwas immediately inmy
mind.Therewasno time tocall a
helicopterora speedboat.That
was themost terriblemoment
of anyswim.”Luckily,Borut
survivedandcontinues to follow
his fatheronhis swimmingesca-
pades,workingashispressofficer.
During theworld swim, it’snotnature
butunstablecountries thatwill beStrel’s
biggest concern.Hewill havea top
security team in thewatersaroundSaudi
Arabia, Egypt, Israel andSomalia,where
piratesoperate.Remarkably, piratesare
yet anotherexperiencehe’sdealtwith
before.During theAmazon swimStrel
foughtwithan indigenous tribeofpirates
for the last threeweeks. “During theday
theydon’t attackyou,”he learned. “But at
night theycheckyourposition.Wewere
smart–wechangedposition twiceeach
night, and theydidn’t findus.But they
MARTIN’STOP
WILDSWIMMING
SPOTS
Strel’s swimming company
(
strel-swimming.com
) takes
tourists to someof the
best outdoor swimming
locations inEurope
Croatia
This trip takes placeon
theDalmatian coast at
the traffic-free islandof
Krapanj, which has someof
the cleanestwaters in the
Mediterranean. Swimmers
island-hop and experience
the clearwaters around the
national parks.
Montenegro
Swimmers on this trip can
explore the fjords and
coves of this historic nation.
Suitable for non-swimmers
or completebeginners,
therewill beplentyof
opportunities to combine
walking and sightseeing
with shorter swims.
Slovenia
Strel says his home nation,
known as the ‘landof pure
water’, will surprise keen
swimmers. “We havegreen
forests, rivers, waterfalls,
mountains andbig lakes,”
he says. It’s a rare chance to
experience theplacewhere
Strel learnt to swim.
didattackuson the lastday
wheneverythingwasdone. It
wasokay,nobodydied.There
wasa little fightingbetween
themandmy security, but
thatwasall,”he remembers.
“Somali piratesareverydan-
gerous, too…Theseguysare
crazyand theydon’t respect
anything. I justhope it’sgoing
tobeokay.That’swhy Ineed
goodprofessionalswithme.”
CALMBEFORETHE
STORM
BeforeStrelwasa long-dis-
tanceswimmer, hewasa
professional gambler.Nowhe’s
gamblingwithhis life. “It’snot
apokergame,”Strel insists. “Onemis-
takeand I coulddie. Physically, it’sgoing
tobehard. I’ll have tobe readyeveryday.
It’svery importantwhat I eat anddrink
eachday. It’snot justoneor twomonths,
it’s forayearormore. Everythingmust
beokay.”Buthe remains level-headed. “I
amverycalm, I’mgood,”he tellsus just
before the swimbegins. “Iwould like to
see thisworldcleanagain, somentally I
have tobe strong.”
Strel’s
swimming
company
offers the
chance to
experience
swimming
in thewilds
of Central
andEastern
Europe.
“There’s
cleanwater,
good food,
andnice
people” in
this area,
saysStrel
In2009,
BigRiverMan
documentedStrel’s 5,268km
swim along theAmazonRiver.
Strel’s humour, resilience and
darkestmoments are all captured
in theSundance-nominated film
WWW.STREL-SWIMMING.COM
