Swimming With Autism: Tuna Tunca Aiming For Ocean Seven – Three Down, Four to Go
When Tuna Tunca started swimming, he immediately took to the sea.
Why?
“I’ve liked swimming in the sea for a long time,” Tunca said.
It started as simply as that, and now Tunca is an ultra-marathon swimmer who is aiming toward completing the Ocean Seven.
The 23-year-old from Turkey completed the Catalina Channel swim in 11 hours, 3 minutes, 20 seconds, his fourth of the seven. He has already completed the English Channel, Straight of Gibraltar and the North Channel.
This is an amazing accomplishment and goal for any swimmer, but for Tunca, a swimmer with autism, it adds another wave of accomplishment and importance.
“For Tuna, the sea is much more than a place to swim. It is where he finds freedom, rhythm, and a deep sense of connection,” his mother Gul Nur Tunca told Swimming World. “With every crossing, he continues to explore and redefine his own limits—not by trying to be someone else, but by following his passion and embracing who he is.”
It is a challenge Tuna has embraced.
“I feel free, especially when there are waves,” he said. “I really love the waves. (I love) using my arms and pulling the water.”
And when the waves make the swim more difficult?
“I keep swimming. My goal is to finish,” he said. “I like achieving difficult things.”
Tuna said the most difficult part of his journey so far was the cold temperatures of the North Channel Swim.
When he is out of the water, Tuna trains with resistance bands to build his strength.
His favorite thing to do after a big swim?
“Go on roller coasters,” he said.
The thrills continue.
So what is next for Tunca?
“I want to swim the Manhattan 20 Bridges Swim,” he said.
That is one of the Oceans Seven, a 28.5 mile (24.9 km) swim around Manhattan that goes under 20 bridges, including the Brooklyn Bridge, George Washington Bridge, Queensboro Bridge and more.
