Martin Strel

On Sunday, April 8, 200 7, 52-year old Martin Strel completed the first-ever swim of the 3,274-mile-long Amazon River. The Fish Man, as he was called by locals, almost died in the process several times; he encountered deadly piranha, crocodiles, anaconda, river sharks, blistering, relentless sun, dangerous currents, river pirates and drug runners, and the insidious candiru. At the finish his blood

Martin Strel looks like your typical middle-aged bloke. He likes a laugh, a drink and the sight of a pretty woman. But put him in water and he turns into a swimming machine. In April 2007, after 66 days, he became the first person to swim the Amazon, 3,274 miles from the Peruvian Andes to the Atlantic shores of Brazil. On this extraordinary journey he dodged piranhas, sharks and river pirat

Martin Strel looks like your typical middle-aged bloke. He likes a laugh, a drink and the sight of a pretty woman. But put him in water and he turns into a swimming machine. In April 2007, after 66 days, he became the first person to swim the Amazon, 3,274 miles from the Peruvian Andes to the Atlantic shores of Brazil. On this extraordinary journey he dodged piranhas, sharks and river pirat