Tanvi Chavan Deore, a 33-year-old swimmer from Maharashtra’s Nashik and a mother of two kids, made history by becoming the first Indian mother to successfully swim across the English Channel, on June 30th, this year. This channel spans approximately 42 kilometers between the UK and France and is considered one of the world’s most dangerous swimming challenges. Arguably, one of the most awe inspiring achievements by a woman or mother ever in sporting history, bringing glory to India and women in general, shattering the myth that women lacked the endurance of men.
Accompanied by two fellow swimmers, Tanvi undertook the challenge after meticulous and gruelling preparation in Nainital, Uttarakhand. There, she trained in 11-degree Celsius waters, which acclimatized her for the English Channel swim. She had previously completed a relay round, which allowed her to attempt the individual swim.
On June 30th,, 2024, she successfully swam the merciless waters from Dover, UK, to France in 17 hours and 42 minutes. Along the journey she combated jellyfish stings, challenging tides, and the perilous ‘swimmer’s grave’, a circuit that stationed her in the same spot for over three hours. The feat was a testimony to her courage, single-minded dedication and willpower. Tanvi manifested the sheer zest of a woman to climb barriers and how spirit can overcome any adversity
Tanvi is living proof that every woman has dreams of her own that often get sidelined, but it is possible to work for goal with consistency, discipline and focus.
Road to the Channel
“The life I was living was not enough for me,” says Tanvi Deore, a water addict. As a toddler, whenever she cried, her parents would soothe her by placing her in a tub of water or giving her some water to play with.
In her schooldays, Tanvi’s adoration or passion for swimming flowered and she spent a lot of time at a pool in Nashik, both before and after school. Her single minded devotion made her a champion swimmer at the school and district levels. However, after Class 9, swimming she had to give studies the priority, and had to give up her swimming endeavours.
For the next 18 years, she gave priority to education, business, marriage, and raising kids relegating sport faded into the backseat. The chores of everyday life like running a resort in Nashik, and playing role of a mother, wife, and daughter began to take their toll.
The quest for self-love led took her back to her passion: water. Instead of just dipping her feet into the pool waters, she took on a gigantic or mercurial task. It is most intriguing what shaped her mindset to plunge into the mission
In January 2022, over, she expressed to her husband that it was her childhood dream to swim the English Channel. This dream was inspired by an article she read about a swimmer who had accomplished this incredible feat.
Preparing for the Channel
Over the next two years, she invested every possible ounce of energy in making this dream a reality. On June 2024, she successfully swam the merciless waters from Dover, UK, to France in 17 hours and 42 minutes. Along the journey she combated jellyfish stings, challenging tides, and the perilous ‘swimmer’s grave’, a circuit that stationed her in the same spot for over three hours.
Tanvi began her training for the English Channel swim under the guidance of coach Srikaanth Viswanathan, an accomplished open-water swimmer who had completed the triple crown of open-water swimming. Her practice sessions started at 4 am, requiring her to wake up at 3 am. The sudden change t in routine was disturbing, especially with three-year-old twinswho were too young to comprehend the enormity of what their mother was attempting.
Tanvi initially struggled to swim for even more than 20 minutes at a time, being discomforted to accept her body and even to wear a swimsuit again.
Tanvi with great willpower ascended from swimming for just 20 minutes to swimming for seven to eight hours in the pool. Later, she began practising in open water, training in the dams around Nashik over the weekends.
Kiran Chavan was disturbed that his daughter wished to embark on venture risking her life, knowing of people who had lost their lives attempting this challenge. “I didn’t want her to put herself in a life-threatening position. She was doing well in her business, as a mother and wife. Why put your life at risk? I wanted to protect my daughter,” said Kiran.
But Tanvi was adamant and when letters didn’t work, she persuaded her coach to convince her father. “When her coach met me and assured me that there was no risk of life and she would be taken care of, it convinced me,” he adds.
Overcoming all odds Tanvi was able to reach the required timing the next day which elevated her confidence made her practice at full throttle for the challenge.
Toa acclimatise with the treacherous English Channel. Tanvi first started taking only cold showers. She also started sitting in ice baths for half an hour, which later increased to one hour. “I would sit in ice water from 2 am to 3 am to get used to it,” shares Tanvi.
She also practised in Nainital’s Naini lake for a week, which has temperature similar to the English Channel. Unfortunately, when she reached Nainital, it snowed, which made the water extremely cold. “My coach motivated me to swim. He said, ‘This is it’. I swam in 11 degrees Celsius water temperature, which helped my body get used to such cold conditions,” adds Tanvi.
Managing time was an ardous experience for Tanvi. She would practice in the morning from 4 am to 7 am, send the kids off to school, go to the office, and then practice again in the evening before finally kicking to bed. By the end of each day, the physical strain and lack of proper sleep began to make her energy dissipate.
To give herself more privacy and peace, she completely cut off from social media and social engagements during the last seven months of training saving her almost four hours every day to sleep at 8:30 pm with her children.
Practice session escalated over the last six months. Tanvi took a break from work two months before the challenge to solely concentrate on practice. She practiced for eight hours daily’. She engaged in a12 hour practice session in the pool in Nasik.swimming from 5 pm to 5 am.
One month before the actual attempt, Tanvi and her family went to Dover, UK to practice.
She worked on gaining weight by consuming nuts and protein. Tanvi also regularly practiced meditation and Yoga.
Tanvi embarked on her venture from Dover. In a boat following her were two pilots, an observer from the Channel Swimming Association, her coach, husband, and father.
The same father who relented letting his daughter take such a daunting challenge was now her biggest cheerleader.
Journey across Channel
Tanvi started her swim brimming with confidence, alongside seven other swimmers who were also attempting to conquer the English Channel. One of the biggest obstacles she faced during her swim was jellyfish. Hundreds of them stung her, adding to the treacherous ourney. “It was very painful; I almost felt a shock, an electric current, making it difficult for my body to move for almost 20 minutes,” she says.
After swimming for almost 11 to 12 hours, the weather deteriorated, with high tides and strong currents virtually hindering any progress and making her stationary or immobile.. Despite her continuous efforts, Tanvi could make no headway. This perilous region of the English Channel has an unforgiving nature. Tanvi now had to resurrect from the most dire straits or depths of despair, which she spectacularly did.
For almost three hours, Tanvi resiliently battled the powerful currents, her courage tested to the limit. The situation became even more precarious as three of her fellow swimmers were forced to abandon their attempts due to the deteriorating weather. “The waves were two to three metres in height and pulled you back to England. I was trapped in this and had to swim an extra 10 kilometres to reach the French coast,” says Tanvi.
However Tanvi with untold grit and unflinching resilience persevered and covered the additional 10 kilometres due to the bad weather. When the observer asked if she wished to continue, it was an emphatic yes.
“I actually wanted to give up. I had vomited and had zero energy. It was thanks to my coach’s training that I was mentally fit to continue. He had told me that it is on days that you don’t feel like training are the days that you must show up. He told me that when your hands and legs reach their breaking point, you will feel like giving up. But that’s when you can’t give up!” says Tanvi.
To boost her morale, her husband showed her a video of their children and the coach waved the Indian flag. “I had to swim for my country,” adds the businesswoman.
. Tanvi had to swim fast to avoid hypothermia ,where the body temperature falls below 95 Degrees F. popped a painkiller and elevate her speed to overcome the notorious t the current.
Finally, after 17 hours and 42 minutes of a gruelling journey, she stepped onto the French coast at Wissant.Tani was that day an ultimate epitome of the spirit to overcome adversity.
“It was the biggest mission of my life. I feel fulfilled and extremely happy. Everyone knows me today as Tanvi’s father, what else I need,” says Kiran.
While Tanvi was exhausted to celebrate then, today, she was incredibly proud of what she achieved. “It was a life-changing moment,” says Tanvi.She could not control her emotions.
Tanvi attributed her success to relentless spirit and perseverance. Single mindedness, mental tenacity and do or die spirit won her the day. Tanvi that day took willpower to a height rarely transcended proving the saying. ‘Nothing is hard if you dare to scale the heights.’ Her mother got a sensation as though she was reborn.
Harsh Thakor is freelance journalist who swam the English Channel in 1988. Thanks information from Mumbai Swimming Association, Zarir Baliwala Mr Thakkar from Nasik who is a close friend of Tanvi and social media like Times of India, The Better India by Pranita Bhat and Swomya Mani and News 18 .
