Indian equals world swimming record in first attempt at Sea of Galilee

Jerusalem: Indian swimmer, Aryan Singh Dadiala, on Friday, equalled the existing world record of the fastest male swimmer to swim the Sea of Galilee, braving extreme weather conditions. Sea of Galilee is the second lowest water body in the world, approximately 214 metres below sea level, and poses multiple challenges such as whirlpools and indefinite windstorms.

Dadiala, 21, who set a world record in November 2022 in Goa finishing 32 km open water sea swimming in 5 hours 36 minutes, is the first Asian swimmer to swim the Sea of Galilee. He started his swim at 5.18 am on Friday when it was pitch dark and extremely cold and finished the challenging swim at 11:33 am, equalling an existing world record of the fastest male swimmer to swim the Sea of Galilee in his very first attempt.

The record for the fastest one-way swim was set by Guy Cohen in 2017 in his seventh attempt, as per records shared by Aryan's father, Surjeet Dadiala, who called it a "proud moment for the country".

"Aryan faced many weather-related and physical challenges during his swim, such as heavy winds and fatigue but was firm and focussed on his swimming", Surjeet said.

The event was observed and certified by Galilee Marathon Swimming Association, Israel and flagged off by Indian diplomat Pawan K Pal, who leads the public diplomacy division at the Indian embassy in Tel Aviv. "