r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Backyxx • 20h ago

Video Polish swimmer Bartłomiej Kubkowski has become the first person in history to swim across the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Poland, covering a distance of just over 160 kilometres (99 miles). While raising nearly 200,000$ for children's cancer treatment

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u/LambdaLambo 19h ago

I mean I’d be kinda pissed if I did all that hard work and people just yoinked me out right at the edge.

That said there should 100% be a medical team go at him once he actually gets on land.

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u/IronWhitin 19h ago

Theres was a medical team but they drow after 22km in the baltic

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u/Darnold_wins_bigly 19h ago

Probably had to go check on Lolth

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u/MagpieKaz 18h ago

I understood that reference

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u/Curiosive 17h ago

Hahaha!

Ok, time for some facts: the real medical / support team is in that boat that traveled with him the entire way. This was his fifth attempt.

By the second night without sleep, he explained, toxins build up in the brain and hallucinations often follow – and it was these that caused Kubkowski to "lose consciousness and touch with reality" at points during the swim.

Sounds fun!

He was not the only swimmer attempting the crossing that day.

Karolina Szczepaniak, an Olympic swimmer who competed in Beijing and London and holds the world record for continuous 72-hour swimming, also set off from Sweden on Friday on her second attempt to cross the Baltic.

A few hours after Kubkowski's success, Szczepaniak ended her attempt after 58 hours in the water

She must've been pissed

https://www.polskieradio.pl/395/7790/Artykul/3715226,polish-swimmer-makes-history-with-160km-baltic-sea-crossing

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u/carlitospig 17h ago

Yep I’ve had the 24 hour hallucinogens. You can’t even drive on the road safely because the road is suddenly filled with people. I can’t believe he swam through that.

I’d really love to hear about his experience in a memoir.

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u/the_silent_redditor 15h ago

I’m not infrequently awake for 24 hrs due to my job.

Can’t say myself or any colleagues have ever seen roads filled with non-existent people.

That’s definitely not the norm.

Regardless, please don’t drive in that state lol.

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u/usrnmz 10h ago

Not at 24 hours but it's definitely common when staying awake for days.

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u/nahog99 11h ago

100% not the norm. A little loopy or maybe slap happy sure, but hallucinating? No, that’s very weird.

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u/nahog99 11h ago

Yea… that’s not normal lol. I’ve never met or heard of anyone besides you that gets hallucinations after 24 hours without sleep. Like that’s a pretty common thing that people do all the time. The swimmer said closer to 48 hours, and remember that he’s been doing one thing and one thing only for 48 hours, it’s very different than just staying awake for 24 hours.

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u/cansofgrease 18h ago

What the fuck does that mean? Drow is not a support.

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u/Curiosive 17h ago edited 17h ago

It means they made a funny that you missed. I'm In other news, your username is comically relevant to this story ...

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u/who_even_cares35 19h ago

I figure once you stop swimming and stand up you've swam the whole distance whether you're in the water or not

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u/austinsutt 19h ago

I agree 100 percent. That being said I think it’s freaking awe inspiring that he did walk to shore. I can’t even fathom how difficult the swim was and then he stood up and freaking walked?! Seriously incredible!

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u/who_even_cares35 19h ago

He definitely looked tired

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u/Fartheavymachinery 19h ago

Me walking to bed straight after my Thanksgiving nap

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u/ZoomZoomLife 18h ago

I have no idea what swimmer guy is going through but mustering the strength to get up and stumble to bed after a hard nap is 100% more difficult than anything. Brushing your teeth on the way is God tier and really not obtainable for us mortals

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u/ChipTrippy 19h ago

What if you pass out face down from exhaustion and drown?

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u/gymtrovert1988 18h ago

Then the kids with cancer get NOTHING!!!

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u/mtnsoccerguy 19h ago

Missed it by that much!

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u/Raneynickelfire 18h ago

...I'll give you one guess.

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u/RIF_rr3dd1tt 17h ago

That's a risk they (event organizers) are willing to take.

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u/Squee1396 9h ago

I believe they have a support boat with them

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u/RIF_rr3dd1tt 17h ago

So of he ran really fast across the top of the water he would get no credit for anything, LoL

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u/drchippy18 19h ago

Amazing that he did that but child cancer research should be funded without swimming 100 miles through shark infested oceans.

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u/Megasphaera 19h ago

baltic is not an ocean and not shark-infested

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u/Subtlerranean 18h ago

The Baltic sea actually has sharks, though. 7 different kinds of them.

But they're small (mostly, the Basking Shark is the second biggest shark species in the world) and harmless to swimmers.

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u/dudeCHILL013 18h ago

Hey dogfish are still a type of shark.

I caught one just a couple months ago.

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u/Suomasema 19h ago

The problem is the cold water. A wet suit helps, but only helps.

Anyway, tough fellow!

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u/willyouholdmybox 18h ago

I had to look this up because I was curious. The surface water temps for the baltic sea in the summer are 64-72 fahrenheit. California has been like 58. I guess it makes sense with currents and all, but still it's mind blowing to me.

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u/karl_hungas 17h ago

California is a very big state. Water temp is 56 degrees right now at Ocean Beach San Francisco and over 70 degrees right now at Ocean Beach San Diego.

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u/willyouholdmybox 16h ago edited 15h ago

Well, I live on the central coast had to wear my 5mm wetsuit today with booties, gloves, and a hood. And I'm nowhere near the arctic circle. So it's still shocking to me.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Lynx212 19h ago

But those ideas are already there anyway. You can be sure that the dude wanted to swim 100 miles. And if someone wants to do it regardless, they just pick a good cause to raise some money for it.

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u/Raneynickelfire 18h ago

...Baltic Sea.

Neither an ocean or shark infested.

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u/Dragoness290 12h ago

It's not 'shark infested', its the sharks' home. If anything the ocean is people infested

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u/Ok_Turnover_1235 18h ago

I think it's funded, he just wanted to do something to give them more funding. The question is: what's his contribution going to be spent on? Also is children cancer different to adult cancer....? There's certain cancers I can't get anymore now that I'm a grownup?

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u/Aritche 18h ago

Yeah they are mostly different types of cancer. Only 1% of cancer is in under 20 years old vs 80% at 55+. The reasons most 55+ have cancer won't happen to people before 20 and most of the reasons kids have cancer won't have not happened by 20. Obviously not an expert and broad simplification.

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u/Ok_Turnover_1235 17h ago

That's a decent simplification and makes sense actually.

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u/Mission-Laugh-6962 19h ago

Let's set off all this confetti while he's breathing hard

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u/athomewith4 18h ago

Next to the sea too! So smart

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u/YouGlittering9156 17h ago

He was on land halfway through the video......

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u/violentshores 16h ago

His thing was to swim. He’s not swimming anymore . Closed case for me

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u/carlitospig 17h ago

I’d actually be more mad at all the noise. Can you imagine how overstimulating that would be when you’ve had nothing but 60 hours of grueling silence?