Mumbai girl for international swim marathon

Ace long-distance swimmer Aakanksha Mishra of Mumbai is the only Indian female chosen for the prestigious 22nd International Self-Transcendence Swim Marathon, to be held in Zurich, Switzerland, on July 26.

Following successful exploits in long-distance swimming in India and abroad, the 17-year-old lass from Vile Parle, Mumbai, will be the youngest in her group as she competes with stalwarts from all over the world, including former and current English Channel swimmers, former World champions and Olympians.

Swimmers must cross the nodal points en-route in a pre-determined time in order to qualify for the swim race. A motor boat will escort the swimmers with an observer on board.

The marathon, organized by the world-renowned Sri Chinmoy Mission, covers a distance of 26.4 kms in the biting cold waters of Lake Zurich from Rapperswil in Jona to Zurich in Switzerland.

It is the toughest course in the region, with cold water temperatures between 12 and 19 degrees Celsius and strong, turbulent currents. The air temperature and wind chill factors vary according to the weather, and account for significant amount of body heat that is lost from exposure to air.

Lake Zurich is formed by the river Linth at the basin country of Switzerland, which rises in glaciers in Glarus. The lake is located at 406 metres above sea level with varying depths from 49 to 143 metres with a catchment area of 1829 square kilometres and is often frozen during the winter season.

Rapperswil is a city of roses in the constituency of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland, located at the east side of Lake Zurich.