Guwahati: Elvis Ali Hazarika, a well-known Assamese broadcaster became the first swimmer from Northeast India to cross the North Channel.
Hazarika also made history by swimming across the strait between north-eastern Northern Ireland and south-western Scotland.
The swimmer’s time spent swimming through the North Channel was 14 hours, 38 minutes.
In a message, Hazarika said, “I have been waiting for this day since a long time. After a lot of efforts and hours of pushing myself to work harder, every day, I successfully have become the first Assamese to cross the North Channel by swimming it in Relay Northern Ireland to Scotland.”
“We had to go through a lot of challenges. Specially, the huge Jellyfish that were accompanying us all the way! We are the first Asian Relay team to cross the North Channel and I am the first oldest swimmer from India to have crossed the North Channel to clock a time of 14hrs 38mins,” he added.
The swimmer further said that it was a proud moment for all Indians and Assamese and a dream come true for them.
Hazarika, who is known for taking on these kinds of challenges became the first person from North East India to complete the Indo Arabian Gateway Mumbai Circle swim with his relay team earlier this year.
He accomplished the nearly 38-kilometer swim from Dharamtar Jetty to the Gateway of India in the Arabian Sea in November of last year, making him the first Assamese to do it.
He repeated his feat in 2019, becoming the first Assamese to swim across the Catalina Channel in the US.