Popular Assamese natator Elvis Ali Hazarika became the first swimmer from Northeast India to cross the North Channel.

By crossing the strait between north-eastern Northern Ireland and south-western Scotland, Hazarika also became the oldest swimmer from India to do so.

The swimmer clocked a time of 14 hours and 38 minutes treading the waters of the North Channel.

In a message, Hazarika said, “I have been waiting for this day since a long time. After a lot of efforts and hours of pushing myself to work harder, every day, I successfully have become the first Assamese to cross the North Channel by swimming it in Relay Northern Ireland to Scotland.”

“We had to go through a lot of challenges. Specially, the huge Jellyfish that were accompanying us all the way! We are the first Asian Relay team to cross the North Channel and I am the first oldest swimmer from India to have crossed the North Channel to clock a time of 14hrs 38mins,” he added.

The swimmer further mentioned that it was a dream come true and a proud moment for all Indians and Assamese people.

Known for taking up challenges of this sort, Hazarika had, earlier this year, become the first individual from North East India to cover the Indo Arabian Gateway Mumbai Circle swim with his relay team.

In November last year, he had become the first Assamese to successfully swim from Dharamtar Jetty to the Gateway Of India, Arabian Sea, the total length of which is around 38 kilometers.

In 2019, he again became the first person from Assam to swim across the Catalina Channel in the United States of America.