On Saturday July 13, swimmer Hassan Baraka crossed the English Channel 55 km from England to France, becoming the first Moroccan to achieve this feat.
Baraka swam from Dover in the UK to Cap Blanc-Nez (Pas-de-Calais, France) in 15h 55min, crowning years of preparation punctuated by participation in long-distance races in a variety of weather conditions.
The Moroccan swimmer had to face several challenges, including cold waters (12 to 14 degrees), strong currents and darkness, knowing that he started his adventure at 3h14min (British time) and finished it at 20h04min (French time). Hassan Baraka
Hassan Baraka, born in 1987 in Tétouan, said he had to wait for weather conditions to improve before taking the plunge, adding that cold water, jellyfish and ocean currents were a real challenge for him.
“The main thing is that I’ve crossed the finish line,” he said in a statement to MAP, expressing his pride that Morocco is now on the shortlist of nationalities that have been able to cross the English Channel.
The first Moroccan swimmer to complete the International Marathon (7 marathons in as many days and on as many continents), Hassan Berka’s achievements include crossings of the Bosphorus and Gibraltar, as well as Papua New Guinea/Indonesia (9 km in 3h 46 min) and Egypt/Saudi Arabia (28.11 km). Hassan Baraka
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