Bulgarian-born professional endurance swimmer, Teodor Tsvetkov is an inspiration to many. Since beginning his journey in 2017, Teodor has used his swimming talent to support many charitable causes. Starting with a 200-metre swim in the icy waters of Bulgaria’s Lipnik lake, the world record holder has continued to build upon his success in his home country and beyond. 

With a passion to motivate and help people across the world, Teodor has raised funds for charity efforts such as UNICEF’s ‘Education for every child’ campaign, and the breast cancer awareness campaign, ‘One of Eight’. In 2020, during the pandemic, he and his brother also participated in a 24-hour, 600-kilometre marathon on exercise bikes to support people fighting Covid-19. 

2018 saw Teodor secure his first Guinness World Record, swimming a distance of 10 kilometres with just one hand – all in aid of the Alexander Rusev Foundation, which was raising funds to build a water rehabilitation centre for children with disabilities. In the same year, he set yet another world record in support of the Foundation, by swimming 50 kilometres with his legs tied. Following that in 2019, he took home one gold medal and two silver medals in a Romanian relay triathlon, as well as finishing second in Russia’s notorious Samara 181 Challenge in 2021. On top of this, Teodor represented Bulgaria at the 2020 World Winter Swimming Championship in Bled, Slovenia – adding two bronze medals to his collection. More recently in 2022, he attained his third world record for swimming non-stop for a gruelling 71 hours. 

A busy schedule lies ahead for Teodor, starting with a swim across the Sea of Marmara at the beginning of July. Next on the calendar is a 380-kilometre swim along the Bulgarian coast in September, which he hopes will draw attention to plastic pollution in the Black Sea. As the year draws to a close, Teodor plans to swim in below-freezing temperatures, participating in the world-renowned International Ice Swimming competition and the physically demanding ‘Ice Sevens’ challenge.