Mumbai: Andheri lass Swapnali Yadav is the 'Little Mermaid' in the world of swimming. On 18th October, 2009, at 10 years, 10 months and 13 days, Swapnali became the youngest-ever in swimming history to complete the 10km Bermuda Round the Sound Open Swimathon in the Atlantic Ocean and in the process also became the first Indian to win a gold medal in the under-12 category, a feat that has also set her up for a place in the next edition of the Limca Book of Records.
Swapnali was the only swimmer from India chosen by world governing body FINA to participate and represent her country in the 19th Bermuda Round the Sound Open Swimathon, organised by the Bermuda Swimming Association under the aegis of FINA.
The Std. VI student of Raigad Military School, Oshiwara, Andheri competed along with 256 top swimmers from around the world including Canada, Dubai, England and the US and clocked an impressive time of 3 minutes 52.21 seconds to clinch the gold.
Swapnali returned to India to participate in the Maharashtra State Triathlon and Aquathon in Jalgaon and earned one gold medal each in both categories for girls' under-12.
The aquathon includes a 200m swim and 2km run, while the triathlon includes 200m swim, 4km cycling and a 2km run.
Following her efforts in Bermuda and Jalgaon and an impressive track record in a sparkling young career that is studded with significant achievements, Swapnali is also staking her claim to become one of the youngest recipients of the Shiv Chhatrapati Award.
Swapnali was among 18 under-12 swimmers from around the globe who had submitted their entries. But the remaining 17 pulled out or were denied participation at the last moment due to sudden stormy weather that included heavy rain and strong winds that even forced flights to be cancelled in the region, which experiences inclement weather for most part of the year.
STREE: Weekly women's magazineSwapnali and her parents Gopal and Sailee were forced to impress upon and convince the reluctant organizers that she be allowed to swim. It was only after a thorough check of her impressive past records that the young Indian was allowed to start her race at 10 a.m. local time.
Text & Images: Sify correspondent
STREE: A weekly women's magazine on Sify.com
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