Sixteen year old Jiya Rai with Autism Spectrum Disorder has become the youngest para swimmer to cross the English Channel. Also, the Mumbai girl is the fastest para swimmer in the world to cross the English Channel. She created this record by swimming through the English Channel from the Abbot’s Cliff in England to Pointe de la Courte-Dune in France in a record time of 17 hours and 25 minutes from July 28 to 29. She covered a distance of 34km! Jiya is a girl with a mission and wants to become the world’s first and youngest para swimmer to swim seven oceans.
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It is reported that Jiya is also the world’s youngest and fastest female swimmer to swim across the Palk Strait. She created this record on March 20, 2022 by swimming 29km within 13 hours and 10 minutes. She has also won medals in the national and state open-water sea swimming championships. She is the daughter of Madan Rai, the MC-at-Arms serving in Mumbai
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