Picture Credit: Twitter
Indian swimmer Aryan Singh Dadiala equaled the existing world record of the fastest male swimmer to swim the Sea of Galilee on April 21 (Friday). The second lowest water body in the world, the Sea of Galilee, is approximately 214m below the sea level. This is the reason, this sea poses multiple challenges, including whirlpools and several windstorms.
The 21-year-old swimmer, Aryan, already holds a world record he created in November 2022 in Goa, where he finished 32km open water sea swimming in merely 5 hours and 36 minutes. Now after swimming the Sea of Galilee, he has become the first Asian swimmer to do so. The young star swimmer of India, Dadalia was accompanied by his family, coach Rahul Chiplunkar, guide Subodh Sule and crew Pavitra Poilkar while he attempted the record.
He started his swim at 5.18 am on April 21, and finished it at 11:33 am, thus, equalising an already existing world record of being the fastest male to swim the Sea of Galilee in his very first attempt. Aryan’s father, Surjeet Dadiala, said the previous record of fastest one-way swim has been set by Guy Cohen in 2017, which he set in his seventh attempt. He also informed about the hardships Aryan faced while attempting this record. He said, “Aryan faced many weather-related and physical challenges during his swim, such as heavy winds and fatigue but was firm and focused on his swimming.”
Aryan said that he took up the challenge to “strengthen India and Israel’s relationship”, and said that he is extremely inspired by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, who became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel in 2017.