Adriatic Swimming Marathon

Plaque provided by the World Professional Marathon Swimmers Federation to Veljko Rogošić

Veljko Rogošić, 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974 world marathon swimming champion, winning at the Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli

The Adriatic Swimming Marathon was a solo 225 km (139.8-mile) marathon swim by Croatian Olympic swimmer Veljko Rogošić from 29-31 August 2006 across the Adriatic Sea from Grado, Croatia to Riccione, Italy that took him 50 hours 10 minutes.

Veljko Rogošić

Veljko Rogošić was an Honour Swimmer inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 1998 and a shipyard technician by trade, Rogošić nearly always found himself near the water. He set a benchmark for pool and marathon swimming among his countrymen during a life dedicated to swimming. He began as a great pool swimmer for the former Yugoslavia where he won 142 national championships and competed a total of 203 times for his country in international competitions, setting 51 national records in the 400m and 1500m freestyle, 200m and 400m individual medley, 200m butterfly and freestyle relays. He was the captain of the national team for 15 years and participated in two Olympic Games (1960 in Rome and 1964 in Tokyo). His highest international rankings were in the 1500m freestyle (fourth) and 400m individual medley (fifth). Rogošić won a World Cup Championship in the 200m butterfly in 1971 and received three Olympic Committee awards during his career.

He won the 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973 marathons in Italian Ricconeu and won the world championship in 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974 at the Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli. He was the first winner of the Faros Maratón 1976. He finished second to John Kinsella in the 1974 Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean in Quebec, Canada in 8 hours 6 minutes, third overall in the 1975 and 1876 Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean in 8:53:57 and 8:46:43 respectively.

After serving as an ambassador of the sport, he continued to be honored for his efforts and exploits. In 2004, he became a member of the Half Century Club for his crossing of the English Channel at the age of 63 in 11 hours 27 minutes - the first by a Croatian swimmer.