Preview
El Río Open Water Swim 2026: preview of the 30th edition
The 30th edition is swum on 19 September. In 2025 it came down to six seconds between a swimmer in his early twenties and one in his sixties, and this year all 400-odd places are gone.
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- #open water
- #El Río swim
- #La Graciosa
On Saturday 19 September the 30th El Río Open Water Swim crosses the 2.6 km channel that separates Lanzarote from La Graciosa. It is sold out: there are no places left, not even on the waiting list, and the deadline to transfer an entry closed on 30 August.
The channel, and why this is not an ordinary crossing
You cannot walk to the start. Swimmers board boats provided by the organisers and are dropped at Bajo el Risco beach, at the foot of the Famara cliff, on the Haría side. From there they cross El Río to Caleta del Sebo, on La Graciosa, which administratively belongs to Teguise. So the race starts in one municipality and finishes in another, and getting to the start means leaving dry land first.
That detail explains the timetable, and it explains the entry cap too: the limit is not room in the water, it is how many people can be carried out and back.
Start times
- 10:30, CHINIJ@ category, born between 2013 and 2018.
- 12:30, Juniors category, born between 2009 and 2012, over the 2.6 km.
- 12:30, General, over 18 on race day, over the 2.6 km.
The general start time is approximate, as tends to be the case when boats are involved.
What the last edition left behind
In 2025, 417 swimmers finished, 268 men and 149 women. The year before it had been 382, so the race grew by 35.
The men’s race was decided by six seconds. Álvaro Cabrera Winter won in 36:15 and Juan Carlos Vallejo Arroyo came second in 36:21, with Herminio Fernández Alperi third, 38 seconds off the winner.
That second place is the figure worth reading twice. Vallejo Arroyo competes in the Máster I category, for swimmers born between 1961 and 1965, and the previous year he had not finished second: he had won the whole crossing in 34:49, ahead of Cabrera Winter himself, who swam 36:22. So in 2024 the fastest of 382 swimmers was around sixty, and in 2025 he lost by six seconds to a swimmer from the Máster A category, born between 2001 and 2005. Forty years apart and less than one stroke.
The women’s race was won by the same swimmer both years, in 39:16 in 2024 and 40:04 in 2025. She competes in the junior category, which is why we do not publish her name.
The sea sets the time
Between 2024 and 2025 the winning time went from 34:49 to 36:15, one minute and 26 seconds slower. In a channel crossing that gap says more about the water on the day than about anyone’s form: El Río has a current, and it does not push the same way every year. Anyone reading Saturday’s times should keep that in mind.
If you are going to watch
The finish is at Caleta del Sebo, so watching it means being on La Graciosa, and La Graciosa is reached by ferry from Órzola. Check the timetable for the day in advance, because a Saturday in September with a crossing on it is not an ordinary Saturday on that route.
The full race listing, with route and organiser contact, is on the El Río Open Water Swim page. For anything else, the organisers can be reached on +34 928 810100, extension 2186, and at elrio@lanzarotedeportes.com.
