Amid the rough condition of the Arabian Sea, 66-year-old swimmer Gangadhar G. Kadekar of Udupi entered the Golden Book of World Records by swimming 3.5 km with his legs and hands shackled in Udupi on Monday. He swam from St Mary’s Island to Padukare covering the distance in five hours and 35 minutes.
Mr. Kadekar wore handcuffs and leg shackles during his feat. Many enthusiasts supported Mr. Kadekar during his swim.
He entered the sea in Padukare at 7.50 a.m. and completed his feat at 1.25 p.m.
Speaking to presspersons after his feat, Mr. Kadekar said that he swam like a dolphin as both his hands and legs had been tied. As the sea was very rough he had to struggle a lot, but he did not lose his self confidence. “I created this record to make children draw inspiration as I have been training many children in swimming. I have to prove something to children and I am happy.”
He had made it to the India Book of Records by swimming 1.4 km in 73.7 minutes by chaining his legs in the ‘Padmasana’ pose at Padukare on January 24 in 2021. Mr. Kadekar swam breaststroke against the wind and reached the flag on the east side of the shore.
Being a former employee of the Transport Department, he took to swimming when he was 50 years old. Concerned about many youngsters drowning in the sea, he has since been training youth for the last two years under the Jai Durga Swimming Club.
Mr. Kadekar has won gold, silver, and bronze medals at the State-level and national-level swimming competitions for seniors. He had bagged the Udupi district-level Karnataka Rajyothsava Award last year.
Swimmer Gopal Kharvi from Udupi district had a similar attempt in 2013 as he swam 3.07 km from St. Mary’s Island to Malpe beach wearing handcuffs and leg shackles and had successfully entered the Guinness Book of World Record.
On December 18, 2020, government school teacher Nagaraj Kharvi made it to India Book of Records by swimming 1 km in 25 minutes and 16.63 seconds by chaining his legs in the ‘Padmasana’ pose in the sea in Mangaluru. He accomplished this feat at Tannirbhavi beach.
