Business Card
Peter Stoychev was born on October 24, 1976 in Momchilgrad, Bulgaria.
His father was a volleyball coach in Smolyan and the proximity of the volleyball court to the swimming pool played a vital role in his introduction to swimming. Petar started practicing swimming at the age of 6. His first coaches were Evelina Georgieva and Ognyan Georgiev. Since 1998, his personal trainer is Krasimir Tumanov.
In his sport career Petar has swum over 60,000 (sixty thousand) kilometers in pools, rivers, lakes, seas and oceans.
At the age of 16 Petar Stoychev began to participate in the European youth swimming championships. In 1992, he finished 4th and 5th in 400 meters and 1,500 meters freestyle, respectively. In 1993, Petar won silver medal in 1,500 meters and bronze in 400 meters freestyle, breaking the Bulgarian national mens records in these disciplines. In the same year Petar participated in his first swimming marathon in Ohrid, Macedonia, in which he finished second, 19 seconds behind the winner.
1995 Petar participated in the European Marathon Swimming Mens Championship in Austria, where he took 6th place in 5 km and 12th in 25 km.
1999 Petar participated in the European Marathon Swimming Mens Championship in Istanbul, where he finished 9th in 5 km and 4th in 25 km.
These successes motivated him to focus his efforts on participation in the FINA Marathon Swimming World Cup. Competitions in this series range from 15 km to 88 km, water temperatures of 16 to 30 degrees Celsius and are held in open water: rivers, lakes, seas and oceans.
Peter Stoychev is the most successful athlete in marathon swimming in the world!
Petar has 10 consecutive wins of a major international open water FINA series since 2001 (World Cup winner 2001-2006, Grand Prix winner 2007-2010) with more than 50 wins in individual swimming marathons.
In addition to his numerous achievements in marathon swimming, Petar Stoychev has participated in three Olympics – 2000 in Sydney, 2004 in Athens and 2008 in Beijing, where he was the flag bearer for the Bulgarian Olympic team and finished 6th in 10 km.
Petar is the holder of the world record for crossing the English Channel (August 24, 2007) and the first swimmer to make the crossing in less than 7 hours (6:57:50). The previous record from 2005 (7:03:50) belonged to Christoph Vandratch (Germany).
Petar competes for SC Levski – Sofia and he practices at the Spartacus Swimming Pool in Sofia.
He is a member of the Athletes’ Commission of FINA.
Petar was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in September 2009.
His daily, strict sport regimen is his way of life throughout his athletic career. Petar is married with one daughter. He likes to spend his free time with family and friends. Also, Petar supports various public initiatives and is a frequent participant in community activities for kids.
