Charalampos Taiganidis forced to end open-water swimming record attempt due to weather

Greek Paralympic champion Charalampos Taiganidis attempted a 151-kilometer open-water swim from Paphos to Larnaca to set a world record and support the PASYKAFF charity campaign. The challenge began on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at 22:00, earlier than originally planned to avoid incoming bad weather. He was accompanied by two support vessels, one carrying officials and another with reservists from SEVAK to provide navigation assistance due to his visual impairment.

After 32 hours of continuous swimming and covering approximately 90 kilometers, the attempt was forcibly aborted near Limassol. As weather conditions deteriorated, wind speeds reached 6-7 on the Beaufort scale, prompting the Cyprus Port Police to order an immediate cessation of the event for safety reasons. While the athlete remained in good physical and mental condition and expressed a desire to continue, he was eventually extracted from the water with the assistance of a jet ski. Taiganidis has publicly stated he does not consider this a defeat and intends to attempt the record again in the future.