After creating a record by swimming 140 km from the Gateway of India to Dahanu beach in Palghar district, Shubham Vanmali is gearing up for another challenge in 2022. Vanmali has started preparations to swim a distance of 413 km from Goa to Mumbai, adding another page to the history books. Vanmali swam the stretch from the Gateway of India to Palghar in 28 hours and 40 minutes, over a five-day period from December 17 to 21.
He claimed that he is the first Indian to complete 140 km in assisted swimming, wherein the swimmer spends time at sea until he completes the distance. He is guided by an expert and the pilot of the boat till the finishing line.
Experts say assisted swimming is difficult as the individual has to swim against the current or wait for the current to change in his favour. It is very difficult for anyone to remain in the sea after four to five hours of swimming. Apart from sea sickness, the swimmer also has to battle loss of stamina and enthusiasm.
“There were painful rashes all over my body and I also ran temperature after being stung by jelly fish,” said Vanmali. A Nerul prodigy and an international open water swimmer, Vanmali has decided to swim from Goa to Mumbai next year -- by the second half of 2022. He added that the feat would require immense training and practice.
Vanmali has previously negotiated the English Channel, the Strait of Gibraltar and the Catalina Channel; among his other feats are the Manhattan Marathon Swim, the Round Trip Angel Island Swim and the Perhentian Island Marathon Swim. He also swam from Raj Bhawan in Walkeshwar to the Gateway of India.
