- 2023 -
ODYSSÉE DES LACS
CROSSING SWITZERLAND IN TRIATHLON FOR NATURE
One of the biggest triathlons in the world led to a surprising scientific discovery. Last August, eco-adventurer Noam Yaron crossed Switzerland from east to west through the Alps by running, cycling, and swimming across the 10 most beautiful Swiss mountain lakes located on the route. A challenge of 750km and more than 13'000m of D+ was achieved in just 7 days, the main objective of which was to collect water from these 10 lakes to sequence their DNA with the help of Summit Foundation. The results produced in the laboratories of the Swiss start-up SimplexDNA are clear: there are jellyfish in Switzerland ! And more precisely in St. Moritz, a first!
- 2022 -
ODYSSÉE DES LACS
5 BIGGEST LAKES IN SWITZERLAND : 188KM IN 11 DAYS
202'493
🏊🏻♂️
STROKES
60h40min55sec
⏱️
CUMULATED TIME SPENT IN WATER
5/5
🏆
RECORD IN WETSUIT
LAKE LUGANO : 11h 18min 22sec
After battling the tropical waters of Lake Lugano, Noam Yaron finishes the first stage of his Sports for Nature Challenge : L'ODYSSÉE DES LACS 2022. To the knowledge of the team and the local authorities interviewed, Noam would be the first to achieve this feat from Porlezza (Italy) to Agno (CH - TI). A very complicated crossing for the swimmer who had an anxiety attack after the first hour, which could have been the end of the project before it even began. “I have never had so much pain in my body and mind” adds Noam who barely finished his 35km in 11h18min22sec with longer breaks than usual (15min on average instead of 5min) and a forced stop of 20min ordered by the lake police to let the hundreds of participants in the annual Traversata del Lago di Lugano pass. A great performance that Noam comments "I could have given up 100 times, but I remembered that the pain was fleeting compared to the regret that I would have had to carry for life in the event of defeat".
LAKE ZURICH : 13h 19min 15sec
After almost a marathon distance in swimming, Noam Yaron becomes the first man to successfully cross Lake Zurich, the second stage of his Sports for Nature Challenge : L'ODYSSÉE DES LACS 2022. After having inaugurated the long crossing of Lake Lugano, Noam swam lake Zurich only 48 hours later. A crossing strewn with obstacles including the passage of the Rapperswil bridge and the large number of ferries and sailboats making the waters of this narrow lake very turbulent. However, the young swimmer put in a great performance: a first part of the race up to Meilen where the headwind picked up and slowed him down significantly over the last 12 kilometers. “It was very difficult, but I felt great in the water, so I was able to face the waves without suffering too much,” adds Noam.
LAKE CONSTANCE : 13h 43min 31sec
After symbolically following the route of the Rhin, " one of the most polluted rivers [in microplastics]" according to researchers at the University of Basel, Noam finished his 40km swim with great difficulty. “By far the most difficult crossing I have done so far!” shares with us Noam who, let's remember, has to date completed nearly 115km of swimming in just 5 days, covering Lake Lugano, Lake Zurich and now Lake Constance. He felt a lot of fatigue on this tri-national lake with contrary and cold currents. A lake in which the young swimmer placed 4th at the Swiss open water championships in 2014 : his first official open water competition. An act of nice revenge for the young man who concludes: “I had to win this time”.
LAKE LUCERNE : 11h 14min 46sec
After fighting against the stormy winds of Lake Lucerne, Noam Yaron braves the waves and breaks the record BY 1h24min on one of the most majestic lakes in Switzerland. A record previously held by Romano Mombelli, who completed the same crossing in a wetsuit on August 26, 2020 in a time of 12h38min. “I never thought I would swim so fast with 115km in my arms” confides Noam after his 11h14min46sec swim and his crossings of the lakes of Lugano, Zurich, and Constance. A crossing that celebrates the end of the penultimate stage of this Sports for Nature Challenge in just 7 days.
LAKE NEUCHATEL : 11h 05min 01sec
It is after 188km of swimming in 11 days that Noam Yaron sets foot on the beach of Yverdon-les-Bains where he celebrates the successful crossing of the 5 biggest Swiss lakes in less than 15 days in favor of water preservation. An end marked by a record for the crossing in difficult conditions of Lake Neuchatel with a stratospheric time of 11h05min01sec for about 38km. “Finishing at the largest Swiss lake and ending up in my region is magical,” confides the French-speaking man, moved by the people who came to celebrate his swimming tour of Switzerland. “I never thought I could finish in such a time after all these kilometers in my arms” concludes the swimmer, 4 days ahead of his initial program. A challenge closed by the City of Yverdon with the exceptional presence of Mr. Greg Perrenoud, deputy head of the Sports and Physical Activity Department.
