Deniz Kayadelen

Deniz Kayadelen, extreme swimmer and inspirational speaker. Photo taken in 2026. Deniz Kayadelen (born 20 June 1987) is a Turkish-German open-water swimmer, extreme swimmer, motivational speaker, and author. She is a holder of the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming and shares the Guinness World Record for the highest swim on Earth with five other members of the Madswimmer Team. She is also an age category ice swimming world champion and has crossed the English Channel. She is also a business psychologist and consultant.

Swimming career Kayadelen's swimming journey began in her youth, starting at Yeşilyurt Sports Club in Turkey before continuing at Bakırköy Ataspor Club. She began open water swimming in 2008, participating in the Istanbul Bosphorus Cross-Continental race, earning 4th place initially and subsequently 1st place in the following years. She achieved first place in Arena Aquamasters competitions, setting two Turkish masters national records in her age category in 2019 and 2022.

Kayadelen began marathon swimming in 2019, completing two international relay swims. Later that year, the same team, renamed "Out of Comfort Zone", completed a relay crossing of the English Channel, swimming 33.5 km from England to France in 11 hours and 40 minutes.

In March 2020, Kayadelen completed a solo crossing from Robben Island to Blouberg in South Africa, becoming the first Turkish woman to achieve the feat. Later that year, she participated in the Peace Route Swim for World Peace Day, where a nine-person relay team swam 91.27 km from Northern Cyprus to Mersin, Turkey. The swim was nominated for the 2020 WOWSA Award for World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year.

In June 2021, Kayadelen participated in a six-day world-record relay attempt covering approximately 320 km from Sochi, Russia, to Giresun, Turkey.

In July 2023, Kayadelen completed a solo crossing of the English Channel, one of the Oceans Seven swims and part of the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, on her first attempt.

In 2024, Kayadelen completed the remaining two swims required to earn the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming. before completing the 20 Bridges Manhattan Island Swim the following month in 7 hours, 58 minutes and 4 seconds, becoming the fastest Turkish woman to complete the Manhattan Island swim.

Deniz Kayadelen won four medals in the age group category (two gold and two silver) at the 2026 IISA European Ice Swimming Championships in Molveno, Italy, five months after giving birth to her daughter.

In February 2026, Kayadelen competed at the IISA European Ice Swimming Championships in Molveno, Italy, in 1 °C water. Five months after giving birth to her daughter, she won four medals across four races: gold in the 100 m butterfly and 250 m freestyle, and silver in the 100 m freestyle and 50 m butterfly in her age category.

Also in 2026, Kayadelen completed a solo crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar, swimming 15.8 km from Europe to Africa in 4 hours and 41 minutes in 16 °C water without a wetsuit, dedicating the swim to raising awareness for world peace. With this crossing, she completed her fourth of the seven swims in the Oceans Seven challenge.

As of July 2026, Kayadelen is preparing for an expedition to Svalbard, Norway, where she plans to attempt an ice swim near the North Pole, the first swim of its kind in the region.

World record

On 10 May 2024, Deniz Kayadelen, as part of the Madswimmer team, set a world record for the highest swim on Earth at 6,405 meters on Putha Hiunchuli in the Himalayas. They did a 15-day ascent covering 138 kilometers on foot to reach the swimming point. 2024: Winter Swimming World Championship, 3rd place Ice Swimming in 200m and 450m freestyle age category 35-39, water temp. 0.2 degrees, Tallinn, Estonia 2023: IISA 5th World Championships, 1st place in Ice Swimming (50m and 100m Butterfly) age category 35-39, Samoens, France 2019: 10k Oceanman turkey – 3rd place – 2:55:55.17 2015: Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race, 6.5 km, Age Category 25-29 Woman 1st 2014: 42.4 kilometers swim in 24 hours in Stuttgart, Germany, woman 1st Place

Recognition In 2025, Deniz Kayadelen was listed by MSN among the Top 10 Self-Made Women to Watch. She also received the Power Feminine Speaker Award at the Women's Health and Mindfulness Leadership Congress in Paris.

Additional coverage of her career and impact appeared in Winspire Live.

Other work Consultancy In addition to her swimming career, Kayadelen has established herself as a consultant with over 15 years of experience specializing in talent management, change management and work motivation.

Media projects In January 2024, the German television channel SAT3 released the Documentary "Motivation Superpower—Strong Will to Achieve Your Goal" (Superkraft Motivation—Willensstarkzum Ziel) based on Deniz Kayadelen's life. The documentary explores the science behind motivational forces, focusing on psychological and neuroscience aspects and presenting diverse case studies.

Kayadelen also participated in an ARD German TV channel documentary called "My body. My feel-good temperature—Cold" (Mein Körper. Meine Wohlfühltemperatur —Kälte), released in February of the same year. This documentary explores the impact of cold water on the body and the ways in which cold can be beneficial. It shows different case studies of people who have developed resistance to the cold, Kayadelen being one of them.

Books She is the author of the upcoming book From Fear to Peak Flow: Break Through Limits with a Groundbreaking Fusion of Neuroscience, Psychology, Business, Extreme Sports, and Spiritual Wisdom, which presents the "Peak Flow Method", a framework integrating extreme athletic performance, corporate leadership, and psychology.

She is also the author of Out of Comfort Zone: Cutting Edge Business Lessons Based on Sports Psychology from the Experience of an Extreme Swimmer, first published in December 2020. It has been translated into German and Turkish. In this book, Kayadelen documents her career as an extreme swimmer and provides observations about overcoming challenges and achieving success. Swimming is used both as a metaphor and a bridge to corporate life.

She wrote her first book in German in 2011, "German Expats in Turkey: Successful Management in an International Context."