14 swimmers brave choppy, cold waters of English channel; 4 finish 132km relay in 33hours | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: Certain tasks seem unattainable, yet many people throughout history have proved that inner voice wrong. Crossing the English Channel is one of those tasks. A gruelling 33km swim from the coast of England to France was completed by a group of 14, including 12 from the city, with a group of three from Bengaluru completing the rare four-member two-way English Channel relay.The group comprising Manish Jaswal, Dr Santosh Loganathan, Tejas Sati and Avinash Thandani (Mumbai) is all above the age of 40.The quartet swam the gruelling 132km in 33 hours and 3 minutes. One member of the team would swim for some time and then tag a teammate, waiting on the safety boat, which tailed them. Swimming is my therapy: Psychiatrist at Nimhans Dr Loganathan, a professor of psychiatry, began his swimming journey in 2015 during a fellowship in the US. “I felt rejuvenated, I remembered how I enjoyed sports as a child, and I wanted to continue this. Swimming is my the therapy,” he said. His path to swimming the channel was long and started with a curiosity about open water swimming. “I kept building my open water experience and then eventually signed up to swim the channel in 2023,” he said.The dedication and training required to complete such a feat can make it challenging to balance professional life and sporting passion. But Loganathan who practices and teaches at Nimhans managed them well with the support from the institution. “Nimhans has been a great help throughout,” he said. Back spasm, nausea didn’t deter groupThe swim itself was not short on challenges. The first leg of the swim from England to the French coast was relatively comfortable for the group, without any trouble from the water. The return leg, however, proved to be trickier with strong currents holding the team in place. The night swim was cold and choppy. They dealt with fatigue, back spasms, and nausea.Jaswal, a corporate employee who has been swimming since childhood, held down the fort through strong currents, putting the team back on course and within touching distance of the English coast.“There are no words to describe the moment,” said Dr Loganathan of the feeling of returning to the English coast. All four team members jumped into the water and swam the last 200m together and received a huge round of applause by onlookers as they climbed onto the beach.“This challenge is open for everyone; we want everyone to have this sense of accomplishment. Everyone knows swimming the channel is equivalent to climbing Mt. Everest,” said M Satish Kumar, managing director and coach, SwimLife that oversaw the training of the swimmers, fostering a team spirit. “More than 70% of attempts fail,” he added.Rana Ghosh, a 50-year-old marketing professional who swam along the channel, exemplified team spirit in his swim as he pushed through an injury. “I had a deep cut on my wrist. I did the swim with tape and stitches because I didn’t want to let my fellow swimmers down,” he said.– By Aryan ThumboochettyBOXThe channel crewManish Jaswal; Tejas Sati; Rana Ghosh; ⁠Kiran Rajagopal; Vishwanatha KC; Nalin Mujumdar; ⁠⁠Madhur Gopal; Yajnanarayana Somayaji; Santosh Loganathan; ⁠Vrushali Prasade; ⁠Danish Abdi; Satish Kumar; Avinash Thadani (Mumbai); and Arunima Bose (Goa).