Home / Lifestyle / Four Indians Brave Currents to Swim Across Continents
Four Indians Brave Currents to Swim Across Continents
5 Jun
Summary
- Four Indians swam 16km across the Strait of Gibraltar.
- Deepika Rana, Milind Soman, Shreyas Hosur, Tanvi Deore completed the swim.
- The challenging swim took approximately four-and-a-half hours.
On May 1, a remarkable group of four Indian swimmers achieved the challenging 16-kilometer swim across the Strait of Gibraltar. The team, comprising helicopter pilot Deepika Rana, IRAS officer Shreyas Hosur, fitness evangelist Milind Soman, and Tanvi Deore, completed the swim from Tarifa, Spain, to the coast of Morocco in about four-and-a-half hours.
This ambitious open-water swim is part of the Oceans Seven, a collection of iconic global channel swims. The Strait of Gibraltar presents unique difficulties due to strong currents, unpredictable winds, fog, and its status as a busy international shipping lane.
Coach Srikaanth Viswanathan emphasized the difficulty of coordinating four swimmers to maintain a similar pace over the 16-kilometer distance, a requirement for tandem swims in this strait. The team underwent months of intensive training, including virtual guidance and a crucial 10-day joint training period in Tarifa.
The swimmers described the experience as surreal, being amidst pristine waters between two continents. They encountered marine life such as dolphins, turtles, and pilot whales, highlighting the wild and unpredictable nature of open water compared to a controlled pool environment.
