Kamya Bhardwaj, a 20-year-old Gurugram resident, completed an open-water swim across the English Channel in 14 hours and 19 minutes on September 22, becoming possibly the first female swimmer from Haryana to achieve the feat.
She faced cold water, strong currents and jellyfish during the crossing. “The last four hours of the swim were very critical. I entered a jellyfish area near France. At first, I was swimming carefully, dodging the jellyfish as much as I could. She was stung three times, on her left forearm, right ear and face. Injuries later forced her to take a break. To prepare for the Channel’s cold water, she also practised sitting in a large bucket filled with ice.
Bhardwaj, a Dyal Singh College student, began the swim from Shakespeare Beach in Dover at 5.35am and reached Cap Gris Nez in France at 7.54pm. She now practises at a pool in Palwal once every 15 days, where she swims for 12 hours. She applied for her Channel slot around 1.5 months before the swim, receiving confirmation before flying to England 10 days ahead of the crossing.
Because she wanted to grow taller, bhardwaj, who lives in Ashok Vihar in Gurugram, started swimming in Class 4, initially taking up the sport.
The final stretch proved particularly difficult, with Bhardwaj encountering jellyfish near the French coast, she told HT. She said she initially struggled with the conditions at Dover and got six hours of sleep the night before the swim. “Open water swimming isn’t just about physical endurance; it’s a mind game against fear,” she said, calling for greater government support for the sport and cleaner rivers in India to allow swimmers to train.
But when, at the 13th hour, I was told that it would take me five more hours to complete the swim if I did not increase my speed, I stopped caring about it and just swam through it,” Bhardwaj told HT on Wednesday.
Bhardwaj credits her family, including her father, who gave up his job to support her, for helping her continue after injuries. She had earlier set an Indian National Record with an 18-hour-15-minute, 54km double-way swim across the Palk Strait. She now plans to attempt the Cook Strait and North Channel and will take part in a relay with Indian para swimmers across the English Channel on Thursday.
