They are the champions of this year’s Balaton swim – pictures

For the men, there was a tie for the lead. Imre Barabás and Máté Hartmann were the first to reach the finish line at the same time. The swimmers completed the 5.2 kilometer distance between Révfülöp and Balatonboglár in 1 hour 1 minute 54 seconds.

The tied winners Imre Barabás (b) and Máté Hartmann (j) at the Balatonboglár finish of the 42nd Lidl Balaton swim. MTI/Zoltán Máthé

Among the women, Janka Juhász swam the fastest. He completed the distance between Révfülöp and Balatonboglár in 1 hour 4 minutes 15 seconds.

The female winner is Janka Juhász at the finish in Balatonboglár. MTI/Zoltán Máthé

The event was originally scheduled to take place on Saturday, but due to uncertain weather, it had to be postponed by a day. On Sunday, almost ideal conditions awaited the runners, you can start until 12:00, the organizers expect 11 and a half thousand entrants.

The participants of the Balaton crossing were greeted by sunny, slightly windy weather and – as the Balaton sailors say – “ironed out”, i.e. completely smooth water. The water in the lake is 26-27 degrees and no significant wind is expected later either.

Participants of the 42nd Lidl Balaton swim arrive at the finish line in Balatonboglár. MTI/Zoltán Máthé

The very first runners were let into the water at seven o’clock to head towards the southern shore of Lake Balaton along the swimming corridor created with the help of around 150 sailing boats. If you get tired, you can hold on or even climb out and rest on the sailboats.