Bangla Press Desk: Former BKSP swimmers Mahfizur Rahman Sagor and Nazmul Haque Himel successfully crossed the English Channel, a strait in Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England and northern France, on Tuesday, becoming the first Bangladeshis in 37 years to accomplish the remarkable feat.
The Bangladesh Swimming Federation’s joint secretary, Nibedita Das, confirmed the achievement on Tuesday evening.
The duo was part of a six-member relay team comprising three Indians and a Mexican. They began their grueling swim at 2:30 am (local time) and completed the 33.4-kilometre crossing in 12 hours and 20 minutes. Having started the relay from England’s Dover, Sagor was the last swimmer to complete the relay.
The English Channel has long been a symbol of elite open-water endurance.
The first Bangladeshi (then East Pakistan) and South Asian to cross it was Brojen Das in 1958. He went on to complete the crossing five more times. This article was originally published on Daily Sun.
