On September 18, 1993, 53 swimmers dove into the water to swim between Lanzarote and La Graciosa. Probably none of them could have imagined that this first experience would end up becoming, three decades later, one of the most characteristic sporting events on the Lanzarote calendar. On that day, the Travesía a Nado El Río was officially born, a competition that has grown to acquire a very different dimension from its beginnings.
The precision of the dates is important. The first edition was held on September 18, 1993, with 53 participants, while on September 19, 2026, the XXX edition will take place, with 500 swimmers expected. Between these two dates there are 33 years and a radical transformation of that pioneering initiative.
It all started with an idea
To find the origin of the crossing, one must travel to Gran Canaria and focus on the figure of Luis Domínguez Reyes, known as Wiso, a swimmer from Peña La Vieja de Las Canteras. According to testimony published in 2007 by people linked to those early years, it was Wiso who proposed to his companions the possibility of undertaking a swimming crossing between Lanzarote and La Graciosa.
Before turning that idea into a competition, it had to be verified if it could actually be done. Wiso traveled to La Graciosa, entered the water from Caleta de Sebo, and began swimming towards Lanzarote, reaching approximately the halfway point before returning. Days later, he repeated part of the route accompanied by Paco Reyes. The experience served to demonstrate that the challenge was possible, and the proposal began to take shape as a collective event.
The initiative found support in Peña La Vieja, the Real Club Victoria, and the Cabildo de Lanzarote, entities linked to the birth of the competition. The result was that first edition on September 18, 1993, in which 53 swimmers accepted the challenge.
When 53 swimmers were enough
The scale of that first event was very different from the current one. There were no 500 spots planned for 2026, nor the organizational structure that accompanies participants today. The appeal lay precisely in the pioneering nature of the experience and in the difficulty of facing a sea route that was not yet part of an established competition.
It was necessary to cross. And it had to be done by swimming. Over the years, that initiative grew to become a consolidated event. When the XX edition arrived, in 2012, the difference was already spectacular: the organization then managed around 700 registered participants, a figure conditioned by the security needs of an open-sea race. The information published at that time recalled that the first edition had only 53 participants.
The change of 2008
Another relevant moment occurred in 2008, when the Cabildo de Lanzarote directly assumed the organization of the race after the stage in which the Real Club Victoria de Gran Canaria had played a fundamental role. The island institution thus took over from those who had launched that initiative and began a new stage of growth and consolidation.
The crossing progressively left behind its status as an initiative linked to clubs and fans to become a sporting event managed from the island structure, with regulations, categories, controls, security measures, support boats, and specific planning.
2,600 meters that continue to test swimmers
The current route is approximately 2,600 meters, between the Bajo El Risco area, in Lanzarote, and Caleta de Sebo, in La Graciosa. Participants are transported by boat to the starting point and from there the crossing to the neighboring island begins.
But those 2,600 meters cannot be measured solely in kilometers. The determining factor remains the sea and, especially, the currents. In the XIX edition, more than 600 swimmers started, but only 199 managed to complete the course, after a strong current made progress extraordinarily difficult and forced the organization to intervene for safety reasons.
A year later, in the XX edition, 598 swimmers managed to complete the race, again conditioned by the sea conditions. In the XXV edition, held in 2017, 689 participants took to the water, although only 365 managed to complete the course within the established time due to the force of the currents again.
September 19, 2026: 33 years later
The 2026 calendar offers a particularly significant circumstance. The XXX edition will be held on September 19, one day after the exact date the event was born. It is therefore advisable to distinguish between the two dates: September 18, 1993, first edition; September 19, 2026, XXX edition.
For this thirtieth edition, 500 participants are planned, with representation from seven countries, eleven Spanish provinces, and five Canary Islands. Among the registered participants is Ricardo Armas Orihuela, 89 years old, noted as the oldest participant in this edition.
The event maintains its approximately 2,600 meters between Bajo El Risco and Caleta de Sebo, but everything that exists around the course is very different today: regulated registration, categories, participant control, support boats, security coordination, transfers, and specific regulations under the organization of the Insular Sports Service of the Cabildo of Lanzarote.
La Graciosa as the finish line and setting
The role of La Graciosa has also changed. Caleta de Sebo becomes the center of activity during the day, hosting participants and companions and concentrating a good part of the event's services. After being transferred from La Graciosa to the starting point in Lanzarote, the swimmers return to the island by crossing precisely the maritime space that separates the two islands.
In 2026, the program will also incorporate the Chinij@s Crossing, aimed at the youngest, along with various activities that will extend the day. In this way, what began as a sporting challenge for a small group of swimmers has also become a social and sporting day with repercussions in La Graciosa.
The sea still has the final say
Technological and organizational evolution has not eliminated the main condition of the crossing. El Río continues to depend on the state of the sea. The regulations contemplate the possibility of modifying the schedule, the starting point, or even the celebration of the event when maritime conditions do not allow safety to be guaranteed.
For 2026, a start is planned at approximately 12:30 PM, although the organization may postpone it, move it to the next day, or suspend it if necessary. This is a circumstance that directly connects 2026 with 1993. The media have changed. The organization has changed. The number of swimmers has changed. The sea, no.
From 53 to 500
The evolution can be summarized in two figures: 53 swimmers in 1993 and 500 participants expected in 2026. But behind them there is a much greater transformation. In 1993 there was an idea that emerged from a group of fans, the will to check if the route could be done and the subsequent support of clubs and institutions. In 2026 there is an internationalized event, with representation from seven countries, eleven Spanish provinces and five Canary Islands, categories for different ages, safety measures and a consolidated organization.
Perhaps that is the true story of El Río. Not only that of a competition that went from 53 to 500 swimmers, but that of a challenge that managed to turn the space separating two islands into the place where, for a few hours, they both end up meeting.
On September 18, 1993, that adventure began. On September 19, 2026, 33 years later, it will continue with its XXX edition. The starting point will still be in Lanzarote, the finish line in Caleta de Sebo, and between them will remain the same approximately 2,600 meters of sea.
Those 53 pioneers are already part of the history of an event that hundreds of swimmers know today. El Río ceased to be just an arm of the sea to become a path. A path that, for 33 years, has been traveled by strokes.
Documentary and journalistic sources:
Cabildo de Lanzarote and Insular Sports Service; Official regulations of the El Río Swimming Crossing; La Voz de Lanzarote, information on the XX edition and background of the event; published testimonies on the origins of the crossing and Luis Domínguez Reyes "Wiso"; Lanzarote Deportiva, information on the evolution and XXX edition; journalistic documentation on editions XIX, XX and XXV; Memoria Digital de Lanzarote. The dates, participation figures, route, organization and evolution of the event have been verified with the available documentation.
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