Besides ‘lángos,’ watermelon, and twisted ice cream, the annual Balaton Cross Swimming event is a once-in-a-lifetime experience during a hot summer at Lake Balaton. As an impact of the pandemic, the event was postponed, but now there is no restriction to prevent it from happening, so this weekend thousands will take part in the swimming event.
Hungary’s largest open-water competition will be held on Saturday, August 1st at Lake Balaton. The annual cross-Balaton swim encourages more and more people to take a deep breath and swim the 5.2 km distance between Révfülöp and Balatonboglár.
The incoming participants at Balatonboglár in 2018. (Photo: György Varga/MTI.)
A new addition this year is that besides the 5.2 km distance, a new half-distance (2.6 km) is also a possible option for beginner but enthusiastic swimmers.
Pre-registration is possible until Friday, July 31st, however, if you decide to join this unique experience it is also possible to register on site.
As last year 9,724 people took part in the competition, bringing the total number of participants to 194,002, the organizers are hoping that this year they can surpass the milestone of 200,000 swimmers in total.
There is no further information about the implementation of coronavirus precautions.
Featured photo illustration György Varga/MTI