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Amateur Bengaluru swimmers take on grueling English Channel
By - Jul 11, 2018, 00:00 IST
Amateur Bengaluru swimmers take on grueling English Channel
A team of amateurs achieved a feat that not many professionals can claim — to have successfully swum across the English Channel. The eight-member team from Bengaluru achieved this feat in 14 hours and 52 minutes. Take this into consideration — at most, around 300 people get a chance at crossing the English Channel each year, and only around 70% of those actually complete it. Fewer people have swum in the English Channel than climbed Mount Everest. “While the distance of the Channel (that links England and France) is 33 km, thanks to choppy waters, the team ended up swimming nearly double the distance — 61 km,” says a proud the recipient, who coached the team. “This is the only amateur team from India (apart from a team that I coached in 2015) to have crossed the Channel,” he adds.
AN AVERAGE AGE OF 50
The eight members of the team — six men and two women — are from different walks of life, with an average age of 50. Yes, 50! While the youngest. So, how did this motley crew come together? We made a successful attempt in 2015 at crossing the Channel with an amateur team, and there were many who didn’t get a chance to compete then. So, they got a chance this time. Others who were interested, it was the fulfilling of a 15-year-long dream. I feel like I have achieved my goal. On June 22, the team of eight swam from 6 am to 8.52 pm in the Channel— each member swimming for an hour at a go. Despite it being summer, therefore, was a big part of the training process, which was spread over 18 months. Hypothermia, sea sickness and muscle cramps are some of the issues that even seasoned swimmers face. So, part of the training included going on six-hour-long boat rides for three days (to get used to seasickness), training at several lakes and swimming in (to get used to the cold water). Each swimmer also spent five minutes at a go in a tank filled with 50-60 kg of ice near the pool in Bengaluru to get used to the near-freezing waters of the Channel, simulation training was a boon, most team members say swimming in the cold water and seasickness were the biggest challenges. The swimming itself, they say, was a breeze. The biggest challenge for me was jumping into the cold water, because it was a sudden shock to the body. Then, once we were out of the water, we had to face the cold again. While swimming, which leads to vomiting. The boat that we were on was very small, so your heads were spinning thanks to the choppy waters, that he didn’t get bored and completed his one-hour swimming stretch swiftly was a challenge for Siddhartha Agarwal, He had his task cutout for him while swimming amidst jellyfish. And for Prakash, the anxiety of actually completing the swim was something that he had to overcome, so we were waiting for eight days without even knowing if we will get a chance to swim, so that also plays on your mind, says Prakash. Nothing bothered L, however, which he credits to the meticulously planned training sessions.
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