Bay Area coach swims marathon on birthday to raise money for youth triathlon team

MENLO PARK, Calif. (KGO) -- A Bay Area swim coach marked his birthday with a marathon-length swim in a Menlo Park pool.

Aleksei Averchenko swam 26.2 miles on Wednesday to celebrate turning 33 while raising money for the First Youth Triathlon Team. His 12-hour swim began at 6 a.m.

Swimming that distance is a challenge for most athletes, but Averchenko faced an added hurdle. He has lived with a disability since a car hit him while he was biking in 2023.

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ABC7 Eyewitness News asked him what it is like to swim the distance of a marathon.

"Difficult, and very annoying, boring at some point, but you know it's worth it," Averchenko said. "It feels very interesting at first, then you have a lot of doubts and regrets, but when people show up it gets better."

Averchenko completed a similar swim last year, raising $20,000 for the triathlon team.