Guinness record bid: Bulgarian man in bag swims Lake Ohrid Published duration 11 September 2013

image caption Jane Petkov swam unassisted in an orange bag in the Lake Ohrid

A Bulgarian man has swum more than 2km (1.25 miles) tied up in a bag hoping to set a Guinness World record, the organisers of the event have said.

It took Jane Petkov some two and three-quarter hours to cross the distance in Lake Ohrid in Macedonia, reports say.

With his arms and legs tied to his body, the 59-year-old swam on his back "like a dolphin", organiser Saso Tockov told the AFP news agency.

The "amphibian man's" average speed was 0.7km/h, Macedonian media said.

"I was very cold for the first kilometre but after that it was all fine - no problem whatsoever," Mr Petkov was quoted as saying after completing the swim on Tuesday.

"Had the water been warmer, I could have 10km or more."

The event organisers said they had properly documented the swim in order for it to be officially recognised as a Guinness World record.

However, there was some discrepancy in local reports over the distance that Mr Petkov had swum while the exact time he spent in the water varied from 2 hours 47 minutes to 2 hours 55 minutes.