Eugene Smurgis

Eugene Smurgis (19 August 1938 – 15 November 1993) was a Russian Arctic marine explorer, ultra-long distance rower and Arctic rowing pioneer. From 1967 to 1993 Eugene rowed a total of 48,000 km on oceans, seas and rivers; a distance longer than the circumference of the Earth and the greatest distance ever rowed by a solo ultra-endurance rower. He completed 9900 km of coastal polar ocean rows. Most of his pioneering rows were completed in the Arctic in a primitive open boat with no cabin or crawl space. He was the first recorded polar ocean rower, as the earlier Antarctic expedition by Ernest Shackleton predominantly relied on sails and used oars only to a marginal degree, therefore not meeting the criteria of ocean rowing.