Floating Fortress for the tenth time

Lajos Fodor, the Administrative State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, who initiated Floating Fortress a decade ago, said at the press conference of the event: year after year, the Hungarian Defence Forces have a significant role in providing for the technical background of the Balaton Swim. If the weather is nice, on Saturday, July 24 participants will enter one of the main sports events in Hungary this year  which requires quite a lot of physical and mental training  and swim the 5.2 km distance. But like the organisers said, the most important thing is safety, therefore they have also planned a few ’reserve’ days and can postpone the Balaton Swim until the next day or even the following week.

Besides its sports value, the event is a perfect summer program for those who visit Révfülöp and Balatonboglár. Last year 9,200 people from 27 countries swam across Lake Balaton, many came with their families and friends. The organisers expect at least the same number of sportsmen this year. Serious safety measures will be in effect during the competition, held between Révfülöp and Balatonboglár, starting at 8 in the morning. Before the start, every contestant will be examined by doctors and during the swim they will be monitored from observance posts every 20-30 m along the distance. Servicemen, military students, civil and public servants have volunteered to complete the 5.2 km distance to promote the Hungarian Defence Forces. (You can also register on our website.)

As always, the Balaton Swim will be accompanied by a number of interesting and exciting programs, the defence forces, among others, are preparing for a military display and other spectacular programs (military band, small arms demonstration, recruitment point, airplane simulator). This year’s Balaton Swim will be special, for the members of the Hungarian boxing team, who recently won several medals at the European Championship, and János Martinek, the two-time Olympic pentathlon champion of Honvéd will also enter the competition, the latter for the tenth time, similarly to the Floating Fortress. (For more information on the competition, visit www.balatonatuszas.hu; if you want to find out more about the ’Floating Fortress’, visit www.hososz.hu.)