Firas Mela is a 36 year old ex-swimming champion who is now a very high ranking sporting official in Syria. It seemed to many that his days as a swimmer were over as he got older and stopped competing but they were wrong. Mela who retired from competitive swimming five years ago has decided to do the unthinkable, he will swim non stop from the beaches of Cyprus to those of Syria! This trip is estimated to be 110KM and will take Mela at least 24 hours to complete.

Mela revealed this goal of his at a press conference where he also told reporters that this event is to occur on the first week of September. Of course one of the many motives behind attempting this impossible task is fame and having your name in the Guinness World Book of Records, but Mela says there’s more than just that. According to Mela he wants to prove what sportsmen and women can achieve with perseverance and hard work.

I think it’s good to see that even someone who now has a ‘desk’ job in the national authorities still has a wild side to him! Good luck Mr. Firas!

By Karim