Most people discover their passion early in life. But some find it much later and still chase it with a fire strong enough to light up the world. For Srikaanth Viswanathan, a Bangalore-based engineer and one of India’s most inspiring marathon swimmers, the ocean became his calling at an age when most people slowed down.
At 33, in 2005, he learned to swim for the first time. What had started as a simple hobby turned into a traumatic near-death drowning incident that left him shaken. But instead of walking away, he chose to return to the water. The ocean that almost claimed his life slowly became where he rebuilt it.
It wasn’t until the year 2008 that he read a newspaper article that referred to the English Channel as the “Mt. Everest of Swimming” which eventually became his life’s calling.
He had trained before the sun was up, through exhausting workdays, through injuries, doubt, and cold-water shock. Every lap brought him closer to a goal many considered impossible.
He completed the solo 33 km English Channel swim in 14 hours and 7 minutes in 2018, after relentless effort for a decade, becoming the oldest Indian and earning a place in the Limca Book of Records.
His journey only grew bigger. He went on to conquer the Catalina Channel, circle Manhattan Island, and earn the prestigious Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming. Alongside his friend Ravi, he successfully completed the demanding two-person relay in the frigid North Channel, making them the first-ever men’s team globally to have accomplished it. He braved the tiger shark-infested pacific ocean waters in Molokai Channel in Hawaii, New Zealand’s Cook Strait and completed the Strait of Gibraltar with his daughter by his side.
In 2021, Srikaanth received India’s highest national adventure honour, the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, in recognition of his courage, perseverance, and pioneering spirit.
His belief is simple yet powerful: “Age is only a number. Limits of our capabilities reside only within the boundaries of our mind.” And his story proves exactly that.
