Bartłomiej Kubkowski becomes first person to swim across the Baltic Sea, raising over 560,000 PLN for charity
After five attempts and over 54 hours in the water, Bartłomiej Kubkowski became the first person to swim across the Baltic Sea, covering more than 160 km from Sweden to Poland while raising over 560,000 PLN for children with cancer.
The swim
Bartłomiej Kubkowski entered the water at Kaseberga, Sweden, on Friday 31 July 2026. Over the next 54-plus hours he covered more than 160 kilometres, reaching the beach at Dziwnów on Poland's Baltic coast on Sunday evening. The rules of the Ultra Baltic Swim challenge were severe: no sleep, no touching the support boat, and every meal or drink delivered on a pole from the vessel. Near the finish, with roughly 1,500 metres to go, Kubkowski hit a crisis. He stopped in the water, unable to see the shore, and asked the crew how far remained. They told him a crowd was already visible on the beach, and he found the strength to complete the final stretch.
Five attempts
The success came on his fifth try. Kubkowski first attempted the crossing in 2022, abandoning at the 110-kilometre mark when the weather turned. The next two years brought similar outcomes. In 2025 he came closest, spending over 52 hours in the water before exhaustion and deteriorating conditions forced him out just 11 kilometres from the Polish coast. This time, the combination of preparation and conditions held.
- First attempt, stopped at 110 km due to sudden weather breakdown
- Second attempt, stopped due to weather
- Third attempt, stopped due to weather
- Fourth attempt, stopped 11 km from shore due to exhaustion and weather
- Fifth attempt, successful: 160 km in over 54 hours, first person to swim across the Baltic Sea
Charity and motivation
The swim was tied to a fundraiser for the Cancer Fighters foundation, which supports paediatric oncology patients and their families. By the time Kubkowski neared the finish, donations had passed 560,000 PLN. Marek Kopyść, the foundation's president, watched the arrival live on TVN24. He recalled that Kubkowski had volunteered on the children's oncology ward years earlier.
He came with that smile and good, very positive energy, which is so needed on paediatric oncology wards.
Kopyść also spoke about the inner strength that drives such feats, referencing the foundation's motto that a diagnosis is not a sentence but an impulse to show one's inner strength.
Another swimmer on the Baltic
While Kubkowski was completing his route, Karolina Szczepaniak was also in the water. She chose a shorter course, aiming for the beach at Pobierowo. Her swim is raising money for the treatment and rehabilitation of 14-year-old Piotr Małolepszy. If she reaches the Polish coast, she will join Kubkowski in the record books as the first woman to swim across the Baltic Sea.
