After swimming…running and cycling. Noam Yaron sets himself no limits when it comes to upholding environmental causes. In the summer of 2023, the 26-year-old from Morges set himself a new challenge: to cross Switzerland in “triathlon mode” to raise awareness of the importance of preserving the quality of the water in Swiss lakes. Equestrio Foundation Foundation supported him in this epic journey
A rather crazy sporting challenge
Noam Yaron may have a good head on his shoulders, he never gives up on any dream. His latest: the Odyssée des Lacs 2023 or, to put it more precisely – crossing Switzerland from east to west by human power alone, via the Alps to get his thighs pumping. It’s a challenge that ranks among the world’s greatest triathlons, with 12,000m of ascent, 700km of cycling and running, and swimming across the ten most beautiful Swiss mountain lakes.
L’Odyssée des Lacs 2023 is the third challenge for our national eco-adventurer and, as he puts it, “certainly the most difficult of his career”. In 2021, Noam had already set out to beat the record for swimming Lake Geneva lengthwise, before tackling Switzerland’s five largest lakes the following year, an operation supported by Equestrio Foundation.
A very sensible ecological project
But above and beyond the sporting feat, this challenge has a real ecological and scientific purpose. The state of biodiversity in Switzerland raises a lot of concern, with half of all natural environments and a third of species under threat. So, it’s vital that we understand and monitor these high-altitude lakes in order to protect their fragile ecosystems.
Noam Yaron took advantage of the strong media coverage of his project to raise awareness among the Swiss population of the need to preserve lake water, and also, in collaboration with the Summit Foundation, to collect samples from the lakes’ water in order to sequence their DNA and map their biodiversity. A world first!
Getting a better understanding of the lakes to protect them
The results of these analyses were then simplified and shared with as many people as possible. We were thus able to discover that Lake St Moritz is home to a species of jellyfish from the Yangtze River in China which, although harmless to humans, competes directly with the local species.
These analyses have also made it possible to assess the presence of the quagga mussel, an invasive exotic species coming from the Black Sea that has proliferated in Swiss lakes in recent years, taking the place of local species and causing a significant loss of biodiversity. The data confirms that the quagga mussel has not yet colonized the ten high-altitude lakes in Switzerland, unlike Lake Geneva.
Support from Equestrio Foundation
When sport meets ecology, we are never far away…
For the second year of its partnership with Noam Yaron, Equestrio Foundation has made a donation of CHF 3,500 towards the purchase of collection equipment, gloves and bags, as well as towards the promotion of the Water Lover Challenge – the cigarette butt collection campaign organized in conjunction with the Odyssée des Lacs.
This project echoes our firm belief that we always protect better what we know and love. So, let’s get out there and meet nature!