Jiya Rai: Para Swimmer to Swim Solo Across English Channel

16 Year old Para swimmer Jiya Rai has become the world’s youngest and fastest female para swimmer to swim solo across the English Channel successfully.

Key Points

She covered the 34 km stretch, from Abbots Cliff in England to Pointe de la Courte-Dune in France, in 17 hours and 25 minutes on July 28^th and 29^th 2024.
She is an international open water para swimmer with a world record in open water swimming.
In December 2022, she swam 1,100 kilometres as a part of a six-member relay team from Mumbai to Goa and back to Vasai Fort in 11 days, 22 hours and 13 minutes, becoming the youngest and only female participant of the team.
She was awarded Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMB) in 2022 the highest award for citizens below 18 years of Age.
She has dedicated her exceptional conquest of the English Channel to raising awareness about autism.