Water sports competiton to start on Sunday in Istanbul
Güncelleme Tarihi:
"Bosphorus 2008", an annual water sports competition organized by Turkey's National Olympic Committee (TMOK), will start in Istanbul on Sunday.
The competition, which is the only intercontinental water sports competition in the world, will bring together a total of 574 swimmers from 22 countries.
Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen will compete in the "swimming category" of "Bosphorus 2008", officials said on Saturday.
During the competition, Bosphorus would be closed to sea traffic and tight security measures would be taken, they added.
"Bosphorus" is the annual Asia-to-Europe swimming, rowing and sailing competition. Thousands of Turkish and international athletes aged from 14 to 71 take part under the motto "everyone needs sport".
The swimming competition begins in the ferry port of Kanlica on the Bosphorus, the Asian side of Istanbul, and ends in Kurucesme Cemil Park on the European side, totaling a distance of 6.5 km.
The rowing race takes place on a 1600-meter course stretching from the Arnavutkoy ferry port to Kurucesme Cemil Park bleachers, while the regattas depart from the Kandilli ferry port and end in Kurucesme Cemil Park.
Several other events run alongside the main competitions, including underwater swimming, water-skiing and jet skiing shows, performances by dance groups and military band concerts.