Record for the Elbe Swim: 2,368 people participate

Dressed in colorful costumes or classic swimwear—according to the organizers, exactly 2,368 people took the plunge on Sunday at the 29th Elbe Swim in Dresden. That’s a new record for the traditional event, said chief organizer Daniel Baumann.

More people are participating every year. At the first event in 1998, there were just 70 participants. What’s behind the rising popularity? “I can’t say,” Baumann remarked. “It’s certainly not because of too much advertising. People are just thrilled. The format is well-received.”

The oldest participant was an 89-year-old man. “The youngest was a one-and-a-half-year-old child who swam along on their parents’ backs,” Baumann reported.

With a water temperature of 23 degrees, the swimmers covered a distance of 3.5 kilometers with the current. The extremely low water level in the Elbe wasn’t a problem, Baumann said. “We only had a water level of 55 centimeters. But water level isn’t the same as water depth. You have to add another 1.50 meters to that. So we had a water depth of about two meters.”