Varna will host a round of the Swimming Marathon World Cup on August 8 and 9 2009, according to International Swimming Federation’s (FINA) open-water race calender published on May 5 2008.

Participants will compete for the grand prize of $20 000.

This is the first time that the Black Sea city has been given the honour of hosting a such a major world event.

The competition will give Petar Stoychev the chance to perform in front of a home crowd. Stoychev is one of the most popular open-water swimmers, not only in Bulgaria but around the world as well.

In 2007, he won the Open Water World Championship for the seventh time and became the fastest person to swim across the English Channel in a time of six hours and 57 min.

On August 9, Varna annually celebrates Black Sea Navy Day. The event, thus, can be seen as a nod by FINA to the sea capital of Bulgaria, as Varna is often referred to in the country.