Tuna Tunca

Tuna Tunca is a Turkish long-distance swimmer. He was the first autistic swimmer from Turkey to cross the English Channel and the Strait of Gibraltar.

Personal life

Tunca was born as the only child in İzmir, Turkey in 2003. His mother Gül Nur Tunca, a school teacher for English languag and later a student adviser, learned that her 2.5-year-old son had autism spectrum disorder. Realizing that he loved water, his mother encouraged him to swim and took care of everything from his education to his sports.

Sport career

Tunca started his swimming career at age three and half in his hometown. He is a member of İzmir Büyükşehir Belediyesi GSK.
Already in 2018, he competed at the Dardanelles Swim, an open water swimming event, and became the runner-up in the disabled swimmer category. He then took part three times at the Bosphorus Cross Continental Swim, and swam from the Greek island Chios to Çesme, in the mainland Turkey. he was on the podium in his age category over the 5-kilometer distance in the Bodrum-Marmaris-Göcek Swim.
Participating in the 2021 World Championships in Egypt, Tunca finished fourth in the 10-kilometer swim. He won the "Best Doubles Cup" with his coach Mert Onaran in the -long Capri-Naples Swim of the Ultra Marathon Swim Series.
On 13 June 2025, he swam the -long English Channel between Samphire Hoe, England and Wissant, France in 13 hours and 26 minutes.
He crossed the Strait of Gibraltar on 4 September 2025, entering the sea in Punta Marroqui at 9:27 in Spain, and after 5 hours and 32 minutes, he reached the Maroccan coast in Ziri. Rohan Crouse from England, Ariadna Moreno and Victor Gregori Barrera from Spain accompanied him during the swim.