Thane school children show their mettle, swim from Rewas jetty to Gateway in two separate events in under five hours.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in
It is wonderful indeed to swim like a fish, but what if you’re a child swimming against time and tide? 11 school children from Thane proved their swimming prowess recently in two separate events – individual and relay – from Rewas jetty to Gateway of India, and beat all expectations by marking great time.
The six boys who participated in the relay event – Savar Akuskar, Dhruv Sonak, Aryan Kamble, Melroy Cardoza, Om Jondhale and Atharva Kolvankar – kicked off their event at 5.55 am on April 20 from Rewas jetty. Each was given an hour to swim. Dhruv started the event and clocked in six kilometres in an hour. He was followed by Om (4 km), Aryan (4 km), Savar (3 km), Melroy (3 km) and Atharva (2 km). “Atharva finished his distance in under 15 minutes and joined the rest at Gateway of India,” said their proud coach Kailash Akhade, who trained the teams at Thane’s Yashwant Rama Salvi municipal swimming pool. The children swam a distance of 24 km from Rewas jetty to Gateway of India in five hours and five minutes.
Kailash added, “Most of the children training with us are winners of State level swimming meets. With deep sea swimming being a separate event at the Olympics now, most children are hoping to catch a break internationally, and are training from a very young age.”
The event was organised by parents’ body, Starfish Group, and was totally funded by the parents of the participants.
(Picture courtesy Kailash Akhade)