PANAJI
Goa-based swimmer, Arunima Bose has successfully swum across the 34km English Channel as a part of a relay team on June 21.
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.
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.
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.
Says Arunima, “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.”
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.
