Three unfinished crossings, hypothermia, venomous jellyfish and millions of strokes are among the challenges behind Bengisu Avcı’s journey to becoming the first Turkish swimmer to complete the Ocean’s Seven, considered the Everest of open-water swimming and made up of seven of the world’s most difficult and dangerous natural channels.

Avcı spoke about those challenges in "Bengisu Avcı: Starfish – A Story of Courage,” a documentary that follows her journey and the experiences behind her crossings.

Known for completing the Ocean’s Seven, Avcı had previously been forced to abandon three attempts. She left the water during her English Channel and North Channel crossings because of hypothermia and was unable to complete her Molokai Channel attempt after coming into contact with venomous jellyfish.

"Leaving the water without reaching a goal you have prepared for months, even years, returning to the hotel and feeling like you are going back to Türkiye incomplete affects you deeply,” Avcı said.

Looking back, she said those three unsuccessful attempts taught her to be patient, get back up, prepare better and not give up.

"Open-water swimming is not only a physical challenge but also a mental test,” she said. "If you do not have patience, determination and courage, do not even begin this journey.”

Avcı had recorded parts of her experiences over the years, including moments when she cried in pain. She said she wanted to remember what she had gone through, believing that these experiences had helped her move forward.

Her recordings later became part of the documentary, which was made after her path crossed with AXA Türkiye in 2024. More than 250 hours of footage were condensed into a 94-minute film directed by Onat Can Karabatak, with Ali Ergöçmez serving as executive producer.

Avcı said watching the documentary brought her both happiness and pride.

"This film does not tell only my story,” she said. "It is also the story of open-water swimmers, people who do not give up on pursuing their dreams and everyone who walks courageously toward goals that seem impossible.”

The journey behind Ocean’s Seven can also be measured in numbers. Avcı said she has swum around 120,000 kilometers (74,565 miles), or 120 million meters, amounting to approximately 60 million strokes.

"I have lost track of how many hours I have trained,” she said, adding that she had never counted how many swimsuits she had worn out.

"There were a billion times when I thought, ‘Should I quit?’ And 10 billion times when I got back up.”

She also described Ocean’s Seven as a financially difficult journey, referring to empty bank accounts, credit cards pushed to their limits and debts that had to be paid.

Journey shared from the boat

Avcı’s husband, colleague and coach, Egor Tropeanon, has also been an important part of her open-water journey.

"He is not only all those things,” she said. "He is my teammate, the person who feeds me from the boat and my training partner. Sometimes, he is my harshest critic.”

The two met in Italy and experienced their first major open-water adventure together in the Strait of Gibraltar. Their relationship, Avcı said, grew through open water and its challenges.

During some crossings, however, Tropeanon could not be by her side. He was absent during her North Channel attempt because he had pneumonia, and they were also unable to be together during the Tsugaru crossing.

"I felt his absence with every stroke,” she said. "For years, every time I turned my head, he was the first face I saw on the boat.”

Avcı said even a look or a single sentence from him could give her strength.

Her parents have also supported her since childhood and accompanied her on boats during several channel crossings. While they tried to remain calm, Avcı said she now better understands what they must have felt watching their daughter swim for hours in freezing water and among large waves.

During the Molokai crossing, when Avcı came into contact with venomous jellyfish, her mother could only watch from the boat as she struggled with the pain.

"Perhaps the hardest thing for a parent is seeing their child in pain but not being able to touch them,” Avcı said.

Despite this, she said her parents never told her to stop.

"They always said, ‘If you are happy, we are happy.’ This was an indescribable source of strength for me.”

A bond with the ocean

Avcı also spoke about the relationship she has developed with the ocean over the years.

"It is my confidant,” she said.

She said she first truly got to know the ocean during her English Channel crossing and continued speaking to it in every channel and ocean she entered afterward.

"I told it about my happiness and my fears,” she said. "Sometimes I told it about my biggest dreams and sometimes about worries I could not tell anyone else.”

She said the ocean had taught her patience, made her forget pride and showed her how small human beings are in the face of nature.

"You cannot conquer the ocean,” Avcı said. "If the ocean allows it, you reach the other shore.”

She said she entered every course with great respect and believed that an invisible bond had formed between them.

"People see the medals,” she said. "But I see the silent lessons the ocean whispered to me behind every medal.”

Avcı said the ocean had become more than a place of struggle for her, describing it as her greatest companion and something that had taught her courage, patience and hope.

That connection has also shaped her efforts to raise awareness about the protection of oceans. As a United Nations Advocate for Life Below Water, Avcı said she has tried to draw attention to the need to protect the seas through her work.

She said she had witnessed changes in the oceans over the years, including rising water temperatures and changing ecosystems.

Avcı also pointed to changes in the migration and reproduction periods of venomous jellyfish, saying that changing water temperatures have led to their appearance in different regions and at unexpected times.

"If the oceans give us the opportunity to realize our dreams, then we must also do what we can to protect them,” she said.

Having become one of the first 50 swimmers to complete the Ocean’s Seven, Avcı said another challenge is next.

"It is very difficult and very big,” she said. "We will announce it soon."