Two Cuban athletes managed to swim across the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates Spain from Africa, one of the biggest challenges for long-distance open water swimmers.
The Cuban nationalized Spanish Alexis Rodríguez Castedo, 61 years old, and the Cuban-French Arnaldo "Nino" Fraguela Paz, 62, carried out the feat on July 13, along with the Spaniards José María López Sánchez, 56, and Juan Alberto Martín-Moyano Zamora, 36 years old.
The team set off at 3:23 PM (local time) that Saturday from Isla de Las Palomas, in Tarifa, Cádiz, and in four hours and 26 minutes covered a distance of 16.8 kilometers to Punta Almansa, north of Morocco. The average water temperature was 19.9 degrees, news portals reported.
López, a native of Madrid, completed this as his fifteenth swim crossing of the strait, setting a record officially recognized by the Association of Swim Crossings of the Strait of Gibraltar (ACNEG). The Spaniard made the crossing in the neoprene mode, while his colleagues did it in swimwear.
On his Instagram account, Fraguela documented the achievement: "Strait of Gibraltar, 16.8 km in 4:26, 1:30 average every 100 meters, 4 km per hour. Second challenge for the 7 Seas of Cumplido. Next Catalina Channel."
"The crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar was much more difficult than expected," he stated to the newspaper El Nuevo Herald, by phone from Spain. "In addition to the aggressiveness of the waves, there were many whales, dolphins, and orcas, and although they are friendly animals, it is preferable not to approach them to avoid accidents."
Fraguela and Rodríguez are the first Cubans to swim across the Strait of Gibraltar in the bathing suit category since their compatriot José Cortinas did so on August 8, 1949, the newspaper reported.
The journey that took place on July 13 by the Cubans and their two Spanish colleagues had a charitable purpose: to raise awareness about the importance of donating bone marrow, as part of a campaign by the association Héroes hasta la médula.
On the same day, another group consisting of the Mexican swimmer Aby Ortega González, 57 years old, and her compatriot Gonzalo Nadal Álvarez (46); the Peruvian Eduardo Collazos Valle (53) and the Italian Stefano Del Papa (46), also crossed the strait, from Tarifa to Punta Cires, in four hours and six minutes, with an average water temperature of 19.5 degrees, reported the website Europa Sur.
The crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar was the second challenge completed by the Cuban Fraguela in 2024, as just two weeks ago he swam more than 24 kilometers from Calais to Cap Griz, in northern France, in six hours and 59 minutes, reported El Nuevo Herald. The water temperature was 13 degrees.
In the coming September, Nino, as he is known, aims to become the first Cuban to win the Triple Crown of open water swimming by crossing the Catalina Channel in California. In January 2023, the Cuban had already announced his intention to swim 52 kilometers between Catalina Island and Long Beach in order to achieve that distinction.
Nino is originally from Havana and has been living in France for over 32 years, where he has his own academy specializing in training athletes for open water competitions. The athlete is registered as the first Cuban to swim across the English Channel.
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