Influences
USA: Moroccan Athlete Hassan Baraka Achieves Feat of Swimming Around Manhattan
Baraka began the challenge on Friday late in the morning (local time) south of Manhattan Island, proceeding to swim a full counter-clockwise loop around the island and completing the course in 9 hours and 53 minutes.
Athlete Hassan Baraka accomplished the feat of swimming around Manhattan Island in New York on Friday, covering a distance of 48.5 kilometers, becoming the first Moroccan to achieve this performance.
Baraka began the challenge late Friday morning (local time) south of Manhattan Island, proceeding to swim a full counter-clockwise loop around the island and completing the course in 9 hours and 53 minutes.
The Manhattan Island swim, organized by New York Open Water (NYOW) and accessible only to elite open-water swimmers via a rigorous application process, is part of the World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) circuit of iconic marathon swims.
“It is an honor to represent Morocco and inscribe the Kingdom’s name among these accomplishments,” the Moroccan athlete proudly stated in a declaration to MAP on this occasion. He added, “It is very important for me to swim here, passing iconic landmarks like the United Nations headquarters (…) and to reflect the renown of Moroccan sports.”
The circumnavigation of Manhattan Island, also known as the 20 Bridges Swim, traverses the Hudson, East, and Harlem Rivers and passes under 20 bridges, including the iconic Brooklyn Bridge connecting the eponymous New York borough to Manhattan.
Reflecting on the physical and mental preparation for this challenge, Hassan Baraka noted that he is physically conditioned for long-distance open-water swimming. Indeed, in July 2024, he became the first Moroccan to swim across the English Channel, covering 55 kilometers between France and England. However, he emphasized that “for this type of challenge, 80% of the preparation is mental, given the difficulties and currents,” as well as sustaining motivation throughout the course.
A seasoned long-distance swimmer, Baraka boasts an impressive record, including a Guinness World Record for the fastest swim across the Red Sea between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. He is also the youngest swimmer globally to complete swims across five continents (2014), the first Moroccan and flag-bearer at the World Ice Swimming Championships (2019), and the first Moroccan to swim 500 meters at the North Pole without a neoprene wetsuit (2022).
After focusing on long-distance swimming for the past three years, Baraka expressed his desire to return to ice swimming challenges, including participation in the inaugural African Ice Swimming Championship, scheduled for February 2026.
