BENGALURU: The recently-concluded Goa Swimathon held at the Betalbatim beach in South Goa saw athletes from Bengaluru dominate the scene, bagging 50 podium finishes, more than any other city in the country.
The 11th edition of the event featured nearly 700 participants from across India competing in various categories such as 250m sprint; 1km, 2km, 5km, and 10km marathon races, braving not only the open sea but also a course infested with jellyfish.
Incidentally, for Arjuna awardee and former international swimmer Nisha Millet, it was her very first open-water event. Despite being stung nearly a dozen times, the Bengalurean finished first in the women’s category and second in the overall category in the 5km marathon.
“Open-water swimming in itself is quite tough. Considering it was my first race in open water and the circumstances, I’m happy with the result. But without the jellyfish, I would have thoroughly enjoyed it,” says Millet.
The 41-year-old former Olympian shares that the event was more of a mental challenge than a physical one given the unpredictable conditions during the event.
“I couldn’t feel my right hand because of the toxins until the end of the race. But having been a confident swimmer for so many years, I didn’t panic and let muscle memory kick in,” she shares, adding that the support from her teammates was a major factor in her finishing the race. “I was talking to other competitive swimmers around me, we were all motivating each other. At some point I was considering stopping the race, but managed to stick together until the finish,” she says.
While nearly 20 per cent of the participants stopped midway through the race due to jellyfish stings, almost all athletes from Bengaluru reached the finish line. Millet thinks the recent developments in the city’s swim-related landscape might be one of the factors.
“Bengaluru is pretty much the swimming capital of India these days. All the top academies of the country are situated here. Also, following Covid-19, there’s been a lot of interest in swimming, even among older folk. But despite their advanced ages, they are more dedicated and hardworking than some of the kids who come to my academy. There’s a lot of passion for swimming in the city and that’s one of the reasons we have so many winners this time,” she explains.
Seventy-seven-year-old Gopal Rao from Malleswaram and 72-year-old Lalitha Vijayaraghavan from Vijayanagara, both finished third in the 1km veteran’s marathon in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively. The oldest competitor at the event, Rao isn’t entirely happy with the way his race went. If not for the jellyfish situation, Rao felt that he could have done better, given that he won the event in 2019. “I’ve been a regular at this event for the last few years, and this time, the organisers did not do a good job,” he says.
Agrees with Vijayaraghavan, a veteran of several international swimathons. “It was a nightmarish experience of pain, uncertainty and discomfort. At times, I thought I might never finish, let alone manage to secure a podium finish,” she shares.