the goan I network
PANAJI
A record 581 swimmers from all over India have registered for the Goa Swimathon 2019 event, organised by the Panaji based Enduro Sports Goa. The record turnout could make this year’s Goa Swimathon 2019, arguably the most attended open water sea swim event in the country.
The annual event which is in its ninth edition will be held at the Bambolim beach on Saturday March 23 and Sunday March 24 later this month. Mumbai swimmers lead the challenge with as many as 177 swimmers from the megapolis taking part in the event, followed by Bengaluru with 140 swimmers and Pune with 54 swimmers. There are 30 swimmers from the host state of Goa taking part.
Saturday March 23 will see the swimmers taking part in the 5 km and 10 km races, while Sunday March 24 will see the swimmers take part in the 250 metres, 1km and 2 km races. 23 per cent of the participants are female.
Nishika Sangani (8) of Mumbai will be the youngest participant in the races, while Kety Patel (71) of Pune is the oldest female participant and BR Gopal Rao (72) of Bengaluru is the oldest male participant. Adding a deeper dimension to the event is the presence of several physically challenged swimmers, which include Vijaykumar Kasivel (35) from Bengaluru, Abdul Rahman SM (13) from Tirunelveli and Vivek Shirali (66) from Panaji
among others.
