1,700 swim across Taiwan's Penghu Bay

1,700人游泳橫渡台灣澎湖灣

Annual swim attracts record crowd, with winner completing race in under 80 minutes


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A record 1,700 swimmers participated in the Cross Penghu Bay Swim on Sunday, per CNA.

The event included a 5,000-meter swim, a 2,000-meter swim, and a 5,000-meter stand-up paddleboard (SUP) competition. This year marked the 23rd anniversary of the race.

The winner of the most competitive category, the 5,000-meter swim, was Taipei native Lee Kuang-hsin (李光鑫), who won the men’s division with a time of 1:17:51. Lee set a new event record, finishing 23 minutes faster than last year’s winner.

Lee joined the race for the first time this year. He led the field soon after entering the water at Xiyu’s Daguoye and finished at Magong’s Guanyin Pavilion.

In the women’s category, Kuo Jia-chi (郭家齊) claimed her third consecutive victory with a time of 1:36:11. She celebrated with local seafood, including Spanish mackerel and squid, which she said were delicious and gave her energy for the race.

In the SUP division, Wang Yu-ye (王宇燁) won the men’s category with a time of 38:48, while Huang Tse-yan (黃子晏) won the women’s with a time of 1:09:48.

Penghu County Magistrate Chen Kuang-fu (陳光復) said the event benefited from favorable weather. However, both upstream and downstream currents posed challenges for swimmers and safety personnel.

Some participants reported discomfort due to heat and jellyfish in the water. Despite these conditions, the event concluded smoothly and without incident, with food stalls in the area doing brisk business selling seafood and other Penghu delicacies.