2,400 swimmers gear up for transcontinental race across Istanbul’s Bosporus

Over 2,000 swimmers from up to 50 countries are gearing up to swim from Asia to Europe in the world's only transcontinental race across Istanbul's Bosporus Strait this Sunday.

Some 2,400 athletes will participate in the 30th Samsung Bosporus Cross-Continental Swimming Race, held every year in July.

Athletes will swim 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) from Kanlıca pier on the Asian side to Kuruçeşme Cemil Topuzlu Park in Europe.

During the race, the Bosporus is closed to all ship traffic. Boats accompany the swimmers along the course to ensure safety.

Samsung said 4,430 people applied for this year's race, including 3,269 men and 1,161 women. Of those, 2,400 swimmers qualified for the competition.

At least half of these are Turkish nationals, as the competition sets the foreign swimmer limit at 1,200. Russia topped the list for number of foreign applicants, followed by Ukraine, U.K and U.S.

Last year, Russians took first place in both the men's and women's races.

The cross-continental race has gained international renown since it was first organized by the Turkish National Olympic Committee in 1989. Last year, the World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) named the Bosporus course as the best in the world. And, in 2016, it was named "offering of the year."