As urban legend is told within the state of Goa in West India, there was a leopard that swam across the Mandovi River channel from Aguada Hill to Miramar Beach, and was eventually taken away by the local government authorities.

Based on this folklore, the Goa Open Water Swimming Club has been planning to replicate the course of action by the famed leopard – and finally realized the vision of the local swimming community.

17 swimmers competed in the Leopard Swim, a 4 km river swim across the Mandovi, the lifeline of the state of Goa.

The GOWS wrote, “The Leopard Swim is a swim that we’ve been dreaming about for ages, planning and re-planning, weighing out pros and cons, and finally launched this swim for our swimmers. 17 swimmers, along with their friends and family on two boats, geared up to follow in the paw-prints of the leopard, and swim across this tricky channel.

There were strong winds and big swells when we started out the swim, making it a new experience for first-time long distance swimmers, but they were assisted by the incoming high tide which was gently nudging them towards the shore.

With the Mandovi channel being an active channel for boats and barges, the safety plan in place for swimmers was precisely planned out – all swimmers were wearing swim buoys, there were two boats with trained coaches, two kayaks and 1 jetski – with a very specific swim route charted out, to ensure swimmers would not be pushed up-stream with the incoming tide.“

Karishma Cardoso said, “I had an amazing experience with GOWS for the Leopard Swim. They were able to calm my nerves and push a good performance. The intricate planning of the details of the swim was professionally thought of. Looking forward to more swims with them.”

© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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