Pune swimmer Geeta Malusare completes Open Water Triple Crown in 96 days

Pune open water swimmer Geeta Mahesh Malusare has won the Open Water Swimming Triple Crown by completing the English Channel, the Catalina Channel and New York's 20 Bridges Swim in just 96 days. She is the first Indian woman to achieve the feat.

Among those who have completed the Triple Crown in a short span, Malusare is the sixth woman in the world and the second in Asia.

Malusare has set herself the goal of completing the world's seven major open water swims and earning the title "Queen of the Ocean". She finished the first leg of the campaign by crossing the English Channel. She then crossed the Catalina Channel in the US in 15 hours 42 minutes. She was the fifth Indian woman to complete the Catalina Channel swim. She then completed the roughly 46-km 20 Bridges Swim around Manhattan Island in New York in 9 hours 32 minutes. By finishing all three difficult swims within 96 days, she secured the Triple Crown.

The journey was not easy. She was stung by a jellyfish while swimming the English Channel, but continued her preparation and took on the next challenges. During the Catalina Channel swim she injured both hands. Even so, given the months of preparation, the effort she had put in and the aim of the campaign, she refused to give up.

Malusare said, "Every swim taught me a new lesson and made me mentally stronger. There was pain, sacrifice and hardship on this journey, but there was never any question of turning back." She made special mention of her family's support. According to her, the journey was possible only because of the backing of her father, mother, grandmother and the rest of the family. She also thanked her coaches Prateek Jawadekar and Shekhar Khasnis for their guidance.

She thanked Venkys and Kranti Realtors for sponsoring the 20 Bridges Swim. She also thanked Preeti Sawant Jadhav, Sudeep Jadhav, Rajveer Jadhav, Kaustubh Halbe and Vaishnavi Kudle, who helped during the US campaign. Malusare said, "This success is not mine alone. This journey was possible because of the love, sacrifice, courage and support of the many people who believed in me."