Goa swimmer, part of relay team, crosses English channel
Goa-based swimmer, Arunima Bose, successfully swam across the 34km English Channel as part of a relay team, recently.Arunima was part of a five member, 'SwimLife Arrows' team from India, comprising Avinash Thadani, Kiran Rajagopal, Madhur Gopal and Yajna Somayaji, which swam from Shakespeare Beach in Dover, England, to Cap-Gris-Nez, France, in a time of 15:58 hours.
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The English Channel is part of the Seven Oceans Challenge. This year was special as this was the 125th anniversary of Captain Matthew Webb, the first person to swim across the Channel.
The English Channel is a unique and demanding swim, considered by many to be the ultimate long-distance challenge. It isn't just the distance that is the challenge, but more, the variable conditions that the swimmers are likely to encounter.
It is also one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world with 600 tankers passing through and 200 ferries and other vessels going across daily.
Arunima, a Panaji-based expressive art therapist is also the lead coach at the Goa Open Water Swimming Club (GOWSC) which focuses on introducing swimmers across India to the joys of open water swimming.
'I have been swimming since I was a child, but being in Goa motivated me to explore sea swimming, building my curiosity for open water challenges,' she said.
According to Arunima, the physical aspect of swim training and gym workouts was much easier than the ice bath immersions that helped her acclimatise for the cold swim. 'I strengthened my mind and mental make-up through meditation and visualisation practices,' she said.
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