Finnish woman's historic swim attempt to Sweden cut short by storm

Kristiina Kangastalo-Hoda, a 47-year-old mother of two from Loimaa, Finland, aimed to make history by becoming the first woman to swim 150 kilometers from Finland to Sweden across the Perämeri sea. Her extreme endurance swim began on Friday, July 10, with an estimated five-day duration.

However, the ambitious journey was abruptly halted by severe weather. Kangastalo-Hoda was forced to abandon her attempt after completing just over a third of the distance, 55 kilometers, due to debilitating seasickness. "Mother Nature came to say that my swim will end here for now," she stated.

The first two days of her swim were successful, with Kangastalo-Hoda covering 21 kilometers each day over 10 hours. The situation drastically changed overnight between Saturday and Sunday. What began as calm seas turned into violent storms, with waves reaching 2-4 meters high. "The weather forecasts from Friday to Wednesday were really good, but they went completely haywire," she recalled.

Despite her experience as a swimmer and instructor, Kangastalo-Hoda succumbed to seasickness. A patch intended to prevent it proved ineffective. "I would need some kind of miracle cure not to get seasick," she admitted. The illness prevented her from eating and resting properly on the support boat, exacerbating her condition.

Though deeply disappointed and frustrated, Kangastalo-Hoda expressed confidence in her physical ability to complete the swim even in tougher conditions, lamenting that seasickness was the sole obstacle. She returned to Hailuoto with her support crew and is already considering a rematch next summer, hoping for better weather conditions.

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Yrjö lensi.