Winners Of the Sognefjord Challenge

Nikolajus Bagdanavicius (non-wetsuit, shown on left) and Erik Sørensen (wetsuit, shown below) won the respective divisions of the 3.7K Sognefjord Challenge 2009 held this weekend.

The fjord crossing of the Sognefjord was held in Borlaug, Norway this weekend. Swimmers with wetsuits were assessed a 10% time penalty.

The water temperature was 17˚C. Erik did beat Lewis Gordon Pugh' record with an adjusted time is 54:40 (actual time was 49:42 with the 10% time penalty assessment).

In addition to the Sognefjord Challenge, a 0.4K Mini Challenge was held in Esefjord ("Easy fjord") in Balestrand.

The Mini Challenge age-group divisions had interesting names:

• Sea urchins: 8-11 years
• Starfish: 12-15 years
• Wild salmon: 16-24 years
• Wolf fish: 25-34 years
• Porpoises: 35-49 years
• Whales: 50-69 years
• Walruses: 70+ years


Martin Strel, the famed ultra-endurance swimmer whose latest endeavor was swimming 5,268K in the Amazon River in Peru and Brazil in 66 days, was the event's guest of honor.