Swimmer prepares for historic 50km swim down Iceland's Lagarfljót river

Icelandic swimmer Sigurgeir Svanbergsson is preparing for a historic feat: to be the first known person to swim the entire 50-kilometer length of the Lagarfljót river. The challenging swim is scheduled for next Monday and serves a dual purpose: pushing personal limits and raising crucial funds for the Pieta organization, which is dedicated to suicide prevention.

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My friend was talking about how he had once gone down Lagarfljót by kayak, and that's basically how I got this idea and I started thinking about whether this was possible.

Svanbergsson was inspired by a friend's kayaking trip down the river, sparking the idea for this ambitious swim. He plans to start between 6 and 8 p.m. on Monday, aiming to reach the shore at Stóra-Steinsvað in Hjaltastaðaþinghá by Tuesday. The estimated duration for the swim is between 20 to 24 hours.

This endeavor follows a previous attempt by Svanbergsson to swim the English Channel in July of last year, also in support of Pieta. However, that attempt was cut short due to safety reasons, as strong currents threatened to pull him away from his support team in the darkening conditions.

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I am just that way, I care a lot about people in general and have always been like that, and I always feel bad when others feel bad.

Svanbergsson describes the Lagarfljót swim as significantly different from the English Channel. While he anticipates challenges such as an estimated visibility of only two centimeters and water temperatures around 8 degrees Celsius (much colder than the 15-22 degrees of the Channel), he notes that the river currents are more consistent. He also mentioned that he only learned to swim properly relatively recently, with his first major swimming project being in 2021.

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There are many things about this that are harder and many that are more comfortable. The currents are always the same there. One doesn't encounter changes in currents, but I think there is two centimeters of visibility, which is of course very uncomfortable. In diving, you only see two centimeters in front of you, and then it is considerably colder, much colder, and less buoyant because there is no salt.