REI E RAINHA DO MAR
HISTORY
The King and Queen of the Sea began with the Leme to Pontal challenge, in which the Brazilian swimmer Luiz Lima swam the 35 kilometers that separate the Leme and Pontal beaches along the coast of Rio de Janeiro. After completing the swim, one of the longest open water tests in Brazil in 2008, Luiz received the trident of the King of the Sea. Motivated by the success of the challenge, in 2009 Effect Sport launched King of the Sea. The event was divided in two parts: The King of the Sea Crossing (for amateur swimmers) and the King of the Sea Elite Challenge (for professional athletes). The competition took place at posto 6 on Copacabana beach, the same area which will play host to the marathon swim of the Olympics Games in 2016, and was hailed as one of the best marathon swims of the year by magazine ‘Swimmer’.
After the success of the King of the Sea 2009, Effect Sport launched the King and Queen of the Sea swim series 2010 and the King and Queen of the Sea Elite Challenge 2010.
The swim series, which also took place at Posto 6 on Copacabana beach, was split in three stages with the participation of amateur athletes in the Sprint (1000 meters in the sea), Beach Biathlon (1000 meters in the sea and 2000 meters on the beach) and the Classic (2000 meters in the sea ).
The King and Queen of the Sea Elite Challenge 2010, which takes place in the last stage of each yearly swim series, once again, brought together the best marathon swimming athletes in the world and was broadcast live throughout Brazil by Rede Globo.
Also in 2010, after its success in Brazil, the competition arrived on foreign shores with King and Queen of the Sea Portugal. Amateur swimmers took part in the open competition with professionals taking part in the Elite Challenge.
In the first stage of 2011, the King and Queen of the Sea swim series returned with a new 3 km test – the Challenge, which was inspired by the Samoa Challenge – one of the most traditional marathon swims in Brazil that used to take place between Leblon beach and Arpoador beach. As well as being part of the amateur competition in King and Queen of the Sea 2011, the Challenge became part of the official calendar of marathon swims.
Never to rest on their laurels, the organizers changed the course of the swim for the 2nd stage of the 2011 series. Instead of the course starting and finishing at Copacabana beach, over 1500 athletes swam from Leme beach to Copacabana beach.
