After conquering Switzerland’s lakes, Noam Yaron is preparing to take on an extraordinary challenge: swimming from Calvi to Monaco using only the strength of his arms. A journey of over 100 kilometers through the open Mediterranean Sea — right in the heart of the Pelagos Sanctuary. At the crossroads of extreme sports, science, and environmental awareness, this expedition involves cutting-edge technical support — but still needs one last push to reach optimal conditions.
🏊♂️ A Sporting Feat, a Scientific Venture, a Call to Action
In August 2025, Swiss swimmer Noam Yaron will attempt to swim from Calvi to Monaco — a stretch of over 100 kilometers across the Mediterranean’s largest marine protected area. For Yaron, it’s not just a physical feat; it’s also a tool to raise awareness about pressing environmental issues.
2024’s Setback as a Springboard
Yaron had already attempted this crossing in 2024 but had to abandon it midway — not from exhaustion, but due to harsh weather and logistical challenges. “We underestimated the importance of the crew’s preparation,” he now admits. Though physically and mentally prepared, wind and currents, combined with the drift of escorting sailboats, forced him to swim nearly 25% farther than planned — almost 200 kilometers in total — before calling it off.
⛵ High-Tech Tools for an Open-Water Swimmer
This year, Yaron’s team integrated ocean-racing technology into the planning process — modeling a “polar diagram”, usually used by skippers, to map optimal courses based on historical environmental conditions (wind, waves, and currents). “As far as I know, this is a first for a swimmer,” he says. The goal? To harness favorable currents in the Gulf of Genoa, minimizing effort just like a sailor would on a global race.
But the project is also deeply symbolic:
“Swimming in the Pelagos Sanctuary is about putting yourself in the place of marine animals — who face pollution, underwater noise, plastic waste, and ship strikes.”
📣 Turning Challenges Into Messages
For years, Noam Yaron has used swimming as a platform for environmental communication.
- In 2020, he swam across Lake Geneva (75–80 km), breaking the speed record — and revealed, through studies, that the lake’s water is just as polluted as the Mediterranean due to tire dust, plastic, and cigarette filters.
- In 2022, he swam across Switzerland’s five largest lakes in 11 days, setting multiple national records.
- He later linked ten high-altitude mountain lakes by swimming, biking, and hiking — and collected environmental DNA (eDNA) samples, surprisingly discovering jellyfish in Lake St. Moritz.
“I want to prove that athletic performance and scientific rigor can go hand in hand,” Yaron insists. His mission: to use his body as a medium to share messages and open minds.
🌊 In the Heart of Pelagos — and Marine Protection Politics
The route from Calvi to Monaco runs through the largest marine protected area in the Mediterranean. This challenge thus becomes a concrete way to highlight the shortcomings of current ocean protection policies.
“President Emmanuel Macron talks about 30% of French waters being protected,” says Yaron. “But by international standards, less than 1% is actually under strong protection. Trawling is still allowed even within these zones.”
Yaron advocates for strong protection, meaning no fishing or intensive boating in sensitive areas. One of his key demands: a speed limit for ships crossing the sanctuary, a measure still under negotiation between France, Monaco, and Italy.
🤝 A Million-Euro Mission Backed by Prince Albert II
The total budget for this project is around €1 million, of which 80% is already covered through public and private partnerships. In 2023, the project’s cost was around €500,000, but the need for expert crews, catamaran rentals (whose prices triple in summer), and scientific logistics has increased the funding needs.
Brands like Nivea and Decathlon have supported the initiative — though Decathlon withdrew following a marketing leadership change. The team is now looking for one final sponsor to complete the budget.
Prince Albert II of Monaco is a personal supporter of the project. He met Yaron several times, including during the first attempt in Calvi with his twins, Jacques and Gabriella. After the 2024 effort, he told Yaron:
“You’ve reconnected people with the sea.”
A comment that deeply resonated:
“That touched me, because it’s exactly my goal — to inspire people to get on board.”
💡 Reaching Millions, Inspiring Change
Yaron’s community already counts 6.1 million social media followers, and they aim to reach over 100 million people in 2025. Beyond raising awareness, the project proposes innovative ideas, like making marine protected areas economically viable through genetic resource valorization.
Some startups are already exploring how environmental DNA (eDNA) from marine zones can be used for biotechnology or cosmetics.
“If we can show that a protected zone can generate value without fishing or mass tourism, it becomes a strong argument for its defense,” Yaron says.
The crossing will take place between August 9 and 20, 2025, depending on weather windows. For Yaron, this is not just an athletic challenge, but a way to “make people want to understand, get involved — and perhaps one day, take action themselves.”
