体坛英语新闻：Serbian swimmer conquers Amazon River, sets world record

BELGRADE, Nov. 17(Xinhua) -- Serbian swimmer Darko Novovic has set a world record, swimming the length of the Amazon River - 5,450 kilometers - in just over 46 days, Reported Belgrade daily “24 Hours” Wednesday.

According to an interview with the Belgrade daily “24 Hours” on Wednesday, the 37-year-old Novovic began his feat on September 29 in Atalaya, Peru, near the source of the Amazon and swam for an average of 16 hours and a distance 188 kilometers daily. On November 13, Novovic finished by swimming 150 kilometers out into the Atlantic Ocean beyond Belem, Brazil, at the mouth of the Amazon River.

Novovic, who also successfully swam the English Channel, shattered the previous Amazon River record of 66 days held by Slovene Martin Strela.

“I was afraid of being attacked by bacteria which can blind you, or encounter any number of 'monsters,' said Novovic, who did come across a dead crocodile in the river. He said this 'fear' was a daily motivator to swim as quickly as possible.

Novovic said the swim was part of a fund-raising effort to build a pier around the church in the Montenegrin coastal town of Petrovac na Moru. He said he is already planning to tackle the Danube River from Belgrade to Schwarzwald at the river’s source in Germany next year.