Authentic Marathon Swim — Marathon

In the sea off northern Euboea, the Authentic Marathon Swim takes place off Pefki, in the municipality of Istiaia-Edipsos. Organized by the Municipality of Istiaia-Edipsos with sports production by Active Media Group, the gathering draws swimmers to test themselves along an evocative shoreline. The competition offers a broad program with distances of 500 meters, 1.5 kilometers, 3 kilometers, 5 kilometers, 10 kilometers, and an endurance course of 14.5 kilometers. Each course has been mapped out by the Greek national swimming coach Nikos Gemelos, with all events staged strictly in accordance with FINA regulations. For the 500-meter kids' dash as well as the 1.5, 3, and 5-kilometer events, the broad sands of Pefki beach serve as both the starting line and the finish arch.

Setting off from the shallows, competitors immediately feel the buoyant pull of the water as they navigate the marked coastal circuits. Out on the longer courses, the challenge deepens considerably. The 14.5-kilometer route revives the historical trajectory of the naval battle of Artemision in 480 BC, taking swimmers directly across the sea above the ancient battleground. This crossing commemorates the legendary feat of Skyllias and his daughter Hydna. Coming back ashore on Pefki beach brings an immediate transition from the open swell to celebration. Stepping out onto the shore with salt on your skin and a wreath of olive leaves in hand captures the spirit of this Greek swimming outpost.

Pefki beach and the editions from 2020 to 2022

Pefki sits at the northern tip of Evia, about 180 km from Athens, and its sandy beach stretches for 4 kilometers. The sand at Pefki beach is fine, the water is clear and the waves are very gentle. The 2020 edition at Pefki ran from 4 to 6 September. The 2021 edition at Pefki ran from 2 to 4 July. In 2022 the 14.5 km route was swum as the Skyllias & Hydna authentic marathon route, with swimmers carried from the pier of Pefki beach to the start. The time limit at Pefki is seven hours for the 14.5 km swim and four hours and thirty minutes for the 10 km.

Cape Artemision: the 480 BC naval clash

Cape Artemision forms the northern headland of Euboea, where in 480 BC the Greek fleet faced the Persian navy across the strait.

The Artemision seabed: bronze gods and sunken wrecks

Beneath the surface of the cape lies a seabed rich with classical archaeology. Off Cape Artemision, divers discovered a sunken ship whose wreck dates to no earlier than the middle of the second century BC. From its cargo emerged the Artemision Bronze, a masterwork statue retrieved from the deep that remains one of the defining treasures of ancient Greek art. Looking down through the clear blue during your swim, the awareness of what these waters have preserved adds an unmistakable dimension to every stroke. The very same shipwreck yielded another celebrated discovery: the Jockey of Artemision, an intricate bronze sculpture depicting a racehorse and its young rider frozen in motion. Decades later, organized exploration returned to the cape in 1952, when an excavation team aboard the sailing boat Alkyone searched for the shipwreck.

Across the strait: Chondri Ammos and the Pelion coast

Across the blue channel lies the bay of Chondri Ammos, directly facing the Euboean shore. Chondri Ammos is steeped in its own epic past, believed by historians to have hosted one of the ports of ancient Olizon. Olizon was famously recorded in Homeric literature as one of the contributing cities that launched ships to fight in the Trojan War. Swimming here connects you directly to that maritime continuum, where every stroke retraces paths worn by ancient oarsmen, epic divers, and the sea itself.