This year's Sun Moon Lake International Swimming Carnival is scheduled to be held on the 23rd of this month and has thus far drawn the interest of 20,000 swimmers from around the world.
The registration deadline for the event was set for Friday, but the applicant limit has already been reached.
In addition to Taiwanese participants, 230 swimmers from the US, Japan, China, Hong Kong and European countries have signed up for the race.
Meanwhile, 193 physically challenged Taiwanese swimmers have also registered.
Chen Guei-san (
Chen said that the total number of participants had been limited to 20,000 this year.
"The fact that so many swimmers come and take part in the challenge will only encourage more international participants to come," Chen told the Taipei Times.
The association said that the oldest applicant this year is 76 years old and the youngest is just 10.
Hung Wei-hsin (
To accommodate the transportation needs of tourists, the Nantou County Government has arranged hourly shuttle buses to take travelers from the lake area to the high speed rail station.
The Puli Swimming Association has been hosting the event for the past two decades.
Participants are required to swim 3km across Sun Moon Lake.
Several county-level officials and overseas guests will also join the participants in the swim, including Nantou County Commissioner Lee Chao-ching (
Following the event, the Nantou County Government will also arrange races at Hohuanshan on Sept. 30.
Runners can participate in a 24km race or a 11.6m race.
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