A 16-year-old British Asian schoolgirl, Prisha Tapre, has raised £4,000 for the charity Akshaya Patra UK after successfully swimming across the English Channel. Tapre, a student at Bushey Meads School in London, completed the 34-kilometer journey from Dover, England, to Cap Gris Nez, France, in 11 hours and 48 minutes.
Tapre, who was inspired by a family discussion about the challenge at age 12, spent four years training to prepare for the swim. She was guided by Jeremy Irvine, open water coach at Watford Swimming Club, who emphasized the importance of both physical and mental preparation. “Prisha’s been swimming six hours, seven hours, and 10-hour sea swims,” Irvine said. “Mental preparation, including the knowledge that you have done all the preparation, is key to conquering the Channel.”
The teenager recalled the start of the swim as difficult but noted an improvement once the sun rose. “It was quite choppy at the start, but when the sun started to rise, I knew that the worst bit was done with,” she said. Tapre also used meditative techniques and found an unusual connection with the jellyfish stings during the swim, describing them as “probably my favorite bit” because they kept her alert after several hours of swimming.
The funds raised by Tapre will support Akshaya Patra UK, a charity that provides meals to children in need across India and the UK. “I wanted a charity that has both sides of me,” Tapre said, noting her family roots in Maharashtra. “My heart goes out to all those kids who live in poverty, both in England and India.”
