Former International swimmer Elvis Ali Hazarika has become the first Assamese to have swum 29 km in the 33 km long English Channel.
After breaking the record, Hazarika posted a message on his Social media handle with the following message:
Hello Guys.
Thanks to all your support, I have become the first Assamese to swim 29kms in the English Channel where at first the water Temperature was 12 degrees centigrade and to the middle it was 11degrees centigrade. I kept swimming for 10 Hours and 15 minutes since 1 AM (6:30 IST)
I am proud that I am the first person from North East India to ever swim such a distance in the Mount Everest of all swims.
I am currently under medical observation as my health had depleted due to the freezing water
Thank you to all my friends, family, specially Ma, Jamuguri Ma, Pranami, my son Presley and Dong, for all your support and help in my swim.
Joi Ai Axom!
Hazarika, who started swimming at the age of two-and-a-half and had crossed the 800-metre Dighalipukhuri here when he was four years old. When he was five, he swam the length of Joysagar Lake in Sivasagar, which is also considered to be the largest man-made lake in India.
The swimmer was training under ace body builder Mahadev Deka.
Challenging as it is to the body and mind, crossing the channel was taxing on the pocket as well. He was accompanied by his childhood friend Prasanta Das. The cost of a boat, pilot, coach, registration, visa, travel, lodging and training in the United Kingdom would come to around Rs 17 lakh as reported by the Telegraph before Hazarika went to London.