“EVERY STROKE WILL BE A REMEDY FOR DROUGHT” IN DATÇA
The slogan of this year’s 20th International Datça Open Water Winter Swimming Marathon, the first open-sea winter swimming marathon in Turkey held regularly during the winter months and supported by the TEMA Foundation, is “Every Stroke Is a Remedy for Drought.”
Hosted by Datça Municipality and organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Datça District Governorship, Muğla Metropolitan Municipality, Muğla Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Datça Sports Club, the races will start on Saturday, January 17, at 11:00 a.m. at Datça Taşlık Beach and will conclude with a medal and trophy ceremony at 6:00 p.m. in front of the Fok Badem Statue at Datça Harbor.
First organized in 2007 by Datça Municipality and continued since 2012 in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Datça District Governorship, Muğla Metropolitan Municipality, Datça Municipality, Muğla Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Datça Sports Club, the 20th International Datça Open Water Winter Swimming Marathon will this year bring together open water swimmers from Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, the USA, the United Kingdom, Azerbaijan, Syria, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Spain, and Turkey.
As Turkey’s first open-sea winter swimming marathon held regularly during the winter months, the event has received registrations from more than 570 athletes. The marathon is organized in short course (1,500 m) and long course (5,000 m) formats, across 15 categories, for participants aged 14 to 89. Paralympic athletes also take part in the competition. This year’s honorary guests are Tuncay Şenyüz, one of Turkey’s prominent open water swimmers, and Necati Sağır, one of the architects of the International Datça Open Water Winter Swimming Marathon. Among the guests is also Prof. Dr. Bahtiyar Özçaldıran, who will hold a talk on open water swimming.
The race will start on Saturday, January 17, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Datça Taşlık Beach and will conclude at 6:00 p.m. with a medal and trophy ceremony in front of the Fok Badem Statue at Datça Harbor.
The only requirement for participation in the marathon is to make a sapling donation to the TEMA Foundation. With the TEMA Foundation as one of its stakeholders, the marathon draws attention to a different issue each year. This year’s slogan, “Every Stroke Is a Remedy for Drought,” has been chosen to highlight global climate change and drought.
Written by Ata SEVGİ AjansCANKA
