Alina Ranceva Completes 76 km Swim in 20x Ultratriathlon, with 3,600 km Cycling Leg Ahead

Alina Ranceva has finished the opening 76-kilometer swim at a 20x ultratriathlon in northern Italy. The Panevėžys athlete completed the distance in a 50-meter outdoor pool in 35 hours, 31 minutes and 21 seconds.

She decided to rest for several hours before taking on the next stage, a 3,600-kilometer bike ride. The event will conclude with an 844-kilometer run. “I’m already at the finish of the swim. I’m a little swollen and burned, but it’s nothing. Look at my hands, my fingers are swollen... Everything is fine, although of course I’m tired. It’s very hot, I’ll sleep a little, and then it’s time for the bike,” the 42-year-old said after finishing.

The ultratriathlon is taking place in Peschiera del Garda, a town beside Lake Garda in northern Italy, 23 kilometers west of Verona. Before the race, Ranceva said she was not afraid of health problems that could arise during such an exhausting distance. “I think each of us has a path and trials set out in life. I don’t think I’m taking a risk or holding my life by a thread. None of us knows how long we are given to live. So shouldn’t we do in life what we like today and now?” she told JP.lt.

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I’m already at the finish of the swim. I’m a little swollen and burned, but it’s nothing. Look at my hands, my fingers are swollen... Everything is fine, although of course I’m tired. It’s very hot, I’ll sleep a little, and then it’s time for the bike.

Last year, Ranceva became the first Lithuanian to complete a 10x ultratriathlon, covering 38 kilometers of swimming, 1,800 kilometers of cycling and 422 kilometers of running. She finished in 243 hours, 11 minutes and 29 seconds, placing second among women and fourth overall. Canadian Shanda Hill won the women’s event.

Ranceva began competing in ultra-distance events in the middle of the last decade. She won the 2019 world double ultratriathlon championship in Panevėžys, but the title was later revoked after a banned substance was found in her doping sample. Her lifetime ban was reduced to three years by the International Ultratriathlon Association, ending in August 2022. In 2024, she completed a 5x ultratriathlon in France, swimming 19 kilometers, cycling 900 kilometers and running 211 kilometers.

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I think each of us has a path and trials set out in life. I don’t think I’m taking a risk or holding my life by a thread. None of us knows how long we are given to live. So shouldn’t we do in life what we like today and now?