Calvi-Monaco swim: Noam Yaron hospitalized after abandoning

At kilometer 169, the beaches of Monaco come into view. The feat already accomplished is extraordinary. More than 100 hours spent in the waves. Five days, five nights, swimming, eating, and sleeping in the open sea, without interruption.

On Friday, August 15, two kilometers from his scheduled arrival in Monaco, the 28-year-old Swiss swimmer abandoned the race. His arrival, expected during the night of Thursday to Friday, had been postponed several times. Frozen, exhausted, and at the end of his rope, Noam Yaron decided to give up. He was pulled from the water and hospitalized this weekend.

The self-proclaimed " eco-adventurer" set off from Calvi, Corsica, on Monday, August 11. His goal: to reach the principality and set a new record for the longest uninterrupted swim in open water while wearing a wetsuit.

This Monday, August 18, his team gave an update on his health. " The progress [...] is reassuring. He still needs rest to recover from this superhuman effort he accomplished," underlines an Instagram story posted on his account this morning. "It is obvious that after such a superhuman feat, he must be medically monitored for a few days," his team had informed RTS on Saturday.

Beyond his sporting performance, the young man intends to raise awareness of the dangers looming over the waters, from microplastic pollution to marine heatwaves , overfishing and water acidification . He is also campaigning for the creation of new strict protection zones in the Mediterranean and for boat speeds to be limited to 10 knots in the Pelagos Sanctuary. "I'm doing this to raise awareness around the world about the importance of preserving one of the most polluted seas in the world, the Mediterranean," Yaron said as he left Calvi on August 11.

This isn't the first time Noam Yaron has attempted the crossing. Last summer, the athlete was forced to abandon his race due to adverse conditions. Not sparing in his efforts, he's back at it again for this August 2025. Crawling among schools of jellyfish , hallucinations due to lack of sleep, and even a tongue burned by salt... The crossing was arduous.

In 2021, at the age of 24, the athlete swam across Lake Geneva in 19 hours and 53 minutes. Entitled "The Lake Geneva Odyssey," his project aimed, in addition to its sporting dimension, to raise public awareness of plastic pollution in the lake.