Bhakti Sharma

Bhakti Sharma

Sharma (centre), and her family, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Born (1989-11-30) 30 November 1989
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality Indian
Occupation Open water swimmer
Years active 2003present
Home town Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
Awards Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, 2010
Website bhaktisharma.in

Bhakti Sharma (born 30 November 1989) is an Indian Open water swimmer.

Sharma is the first Asian woman and the youngest in the world to set a record in open swimming in Antarctic waters. Sharma swam 1.4 miles (2.3 km) in 41.14 minutes, at a temperature of 1 °C (34 °F), breaking the record of Lynne Cox (USA) and Lewis Pugh (Great Britain).[1] Bhakti Sharma has swum in all the five oceans of the world, besides swimming in or across eight other seas and channels. She was awarded the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award in 2010.[2]

Early life

Sharma was born in Mumbai and brought up in Udaipur, Rajasthan. She holds a master's degree from Symbiosis International University in Communications Management, and holds a bachelor's degree in Commerce from Mohan Lal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Swimming career

Sharma started swimming at a young age of 2 and a half years, coached by her mother Leena Sharma. After having participated in many State and District Level competitions, her first open water (Sea) swim was a 16 km swim from Uran port to Gateway of India in 2003. Sharma was 14 years old that time.[3]

Along with her Mother-Coach Leena Sharma and friend Priyanka Gehlot, Bhakti holds the Asian record for the first swim by a 3-member women’s relay team across the English Channel. She also shares a world record with her mother for being the first mother-daughter pair to swim across the English Channel, a feat that they achieved in 2008.

Sharma is only the third person in the world to have swum in the Arctic Ocean, and recently swam in the Antarctic Ocean to become the youngest to swim in all five oceans, a feat which earned her recognition from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[4][5]

Sharma's swimming career in just a little over 10 years is commendable and some major milestones include :

National Swims

Recent record

On January 10, 2015, Sharma became the youngest in the world and first Asian girl to swim in freezing water of Antarctica for 2.25 km,[14] beating the record of British open water swimming champion Lewis Pugh and American swimmer Lynne Cox. Sharma swam for 52 minutes, covering 2.25 km distance in the freezing waters of Antarctica while the temperature was one degree.[14] She performed the record-breaking swim with the sponsorship of Hindustan Zinc Limited.[15]

Motivational Speaking

Sharma is also a renowned Motivational Speaker, who has been invited to speak about her experiences at various national and international speaker platforms. Some of the well-documented speaker opportunities include

References

  1. Press Trust of India (14 January 2015). "Open water swimmer Bhakti Sharma sets world record in Antarctic Ocean". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  2. "Bhakti Sharma conquers Antarctic Ocean". Times of India. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  3. "Interview in Udaipur Times". Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  4. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi Congratulates Record-Breaking Swimmer Bhakti Sharma". NDTV Sports. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "The Hindu Article". Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  6. "Lake Zurich Swim Results 2006" (PDF). Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  7. "Bhakti Sharma: Conquers the seven seas". Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  8. "Swimming against the tide". Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  9. "Swim to educate with Bhakti Sharma". Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  10. "First Woman to swim in four oceans". Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  11. "Bhakti Sharma: The open water swimmer who conquered five oceans". Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  12. "The Water Girl Of India: Bhakti Sharma Sets The World Record In Antarctic Ocean". Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  13. "Bhakti Sharma - Profile". Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  14. 1 2 "World Record in Antarctica Ocean". Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  15. "Indian swimmer Bhakti Sharma sets world record in Antarctic Ocean". Retrieved 5 February 2015.
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