The three-time record holder added another world beating accomplishment to his catalogue when he arrived in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires only 24 days after he leaped into the Parana river at the Iguazu falls on the Argentine border with Brazil and Paraguay. And despite swimming the length of the Mississippi River last year, as the first person to do so, Strel called the Parana 2003 project the most difficult to date because of the unpredictable weather.

"Aquaman", as he was dubbed in the local papers, completed the swim down the Parana two days earlier than he had originally planned even though he had to sit out a day of swimming because of poor weather conditions. His goal of setting a record that would take a lot to beat was therefore attained. "There is a lot of talk about the Amazon, but I have to make it clear that the Parana is also a dangerous river...it has been the site of the biggest world records in marathon swimming and I'm proud to be a part of that now," Strel told a press conference once he got himself dry.

A 25-member team accompanied the three-time record holder on his latest daredevil swim. Like his previous attempts, the Parana was a dangerous place for the Slovenian swimmer. The locals who showed him around before he began the challenge warned him about piranhas, crocodiles and anacondas. Moreover, the final stages of the project proved to be extremely challenging as the river stretches for 40 kilometres across in some places. By reaching Buenos Aires, Strel also become the first person to reach the centre of the Argentine capital by swimming the Rio de la Plata estuary. The enormity of this feat is demonstrated by the fact that all 17 swimmers who had attempted this feat in the past 49 years, failed to make it.

The Parana project is the first in a series of new feats that the father of two is hoping to achieve. The Yellow River in China has been mentioned as being next in the sights of this native of a little Slovenian village, whose name can be understood as meaning "Wet Feet". STA