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Meet the fastest Asian to swim the Molokai Channel in Hawaii
Summary
In early October, 19-year-old Anshuman Jhingran swam across the Molokai Channel in 14 hours, 21 minutes and set a new record
While most of his mates were looking forward to holidays after their Board examinations in March this year, Anshuman Jhingran got his swimming gear out and headed straight to the pool. For, the 19-year-old was in a hurry to resume training for the Oceans Seven project — it features seven of the toughest open water swims in the world — he had undertaken in 2022.
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After finishing the North Channel (the strait between north-eastern Northern Ireland and south-western Scotland) and Catalina Channel (near the Channel Islands southwest of Los Angeles) last year, and the Cook Strait (New Zealand) in January, he was looking to pull off a double swim across the English Channel between France and England, and the Molokai Channel in Hawaii. However, once he arrived in England towards the end of August, a storm put paid to his plans of attempting the English Channel, and he came back home despondent, without even having stepped into the water.
“I have never returned without finishing a swim, so this was new for me. My plan went for a toss because the English Channel was to be my big swim before attempting the Molokai Channel. When that didn’t work out, I got motivated to get the Molokai swim done," Jhingran recalls.
The Molokai Channel separates the Hawaiian islands of Molokai and Oahu, and at 42km, is the longest swim as part of the Oceans Seven challenge. At 3.18pm on 4 October, Jhingran jumped into the Pacific Ocean and finished his attempt in 14 hours 21 minutes to become the fastest Asian to swim the stretch. “It was brutal, given how strong the tide was. And at the back of your head, you know that the water around you is home to sharks and the Portuguese man o’ war jellyfish. I had also been struggling with a shoulder injury in the run-up to the swim. So, I was quite glad to have finished it," he says.
Long hours of training
A former short-distance swimmer, Navi Mumbai-based Jhingran switched over to open water swimming after the covid-19 pandemic. His first few swims were in the Arabian Sea, and he soon started training for the Oceans Seven attempt. He was the youngest in the world to swim the North Channel, and the fastest Asian across the Catalina Channel and the Cook Strait.
His initial training plan since March this year was done keeping the English Channel (33km) in mind. Under coach Gokul Kamath, he focussed on doing workouts at a set pace with aim to hold his speed. This entailed doing two sessions, totalling six hours, every day. Once in a week, he would pull off a single session of 12 hours. Outside of the water, he would do dryland training and hit the gym for weight training.
For the kind of effort each training session required, Jhingran had to maintain his weight and ensure that he was eating more calories than he was burning. Each day, he would consume about 3,000 calories on average. By the time the English Channel swim arrived, however, a persistent pain in his right shoulder was a cause for concern. “At times, I tend to put too much power in my strokes, so it could have been a result of that. There were endless visits to the physiotherapist, but it would still act up. There were just a few days to go and we had to take a call if we were going ahead with the attempt. My coach asked me to swim for 12 hours at a stretch and if I managed it without any pain, we were good to go," he says.
Once the English Channel swim was called off, Jhingran returned home and worked towards the Molokai Channel with just three weeks to go. To gear up for the distance, he put in longer swims of 8-12 hours over two sessions, and once a week, took on the entire distance at a stretch. He arrived in Hawaii four days before the attempt and met with the pilot, who explained what Jhingran could expect during the swim.
My biggest concern were the sharks. I was told that while shark shields fitted under the accompanying boat and kayaks would keep me safe from the big ones, there was no way to avoid the smaller Cookiecutter shark. In case it came close, I was told to simply grab it and throw it away. I freaked out and that was the only moment I was uncertain about this swim," he laughs.
As Jhingran plunged into the azure water on the D-Day, he realised that the rough tide would make the going tough. Moments later, a jellyfish sting hampered his progress momentarily and he realised his left leg wasn’t working very well. Jhingran simply ignored the troubled arm and pushed ahead powered by Oreo cookies and energy drinks. Dolphins were a welcome distraction for a short while, but things got difficult during the last couple of hours when the finish line was in sight, and yet, he had to swim left to avoid the rocks piled up by the shore.
“It really tested my patience. And by the end of it, it was more relief than joy to complete the swim. Now, I want to finish the last three swims of the Oceans Seven next year," Jhingran signs off.
Shail Desai is a Mumbai-based freelance writer.
