“The life I was living was not enough for me,” says Tanvi Deore, a quintessential water baby. As a toddler, whenever she was upset or cranky, her parents would pacify her by placing her in a tub of water or giving her some water to play with.
As she grew, Tanvi’s passion for swimming blossomed, and she spent a lot of time at a pool in Nashik, both before and after school. Her dedication led her to become a champion swimmer at the school and district levels. However, after Class 9, swimming took a backseat as her studies became the priority.
For the next 18 years, education, business, marriage, and raising kids took precedence, and her sport faded into the background. As a young mother, she juggled these roles while longing for the determined young girl who once embraced every challenge. The demands of everyday life — managing a resort in Nashik, and being a mother, wife, and daughter — began to take their toll.
Had she lost herself, along with the fearless young girl who was up for any challenge, she wondered? This search for self-love led her back to her first love: water. One might think she would simply return to swimming, but Tanvi had loftier dreams. Instead of just diving back into the pool, she set herself a Herculean task.
In January 2022, over a cup of tea, she confided in her husband about her wish to fulfil one of her childhood dreams — to swim the English Channel, a daunting long-distance challenge spanning over 33 km from England to France.
This dream had taken root when she was just a child, inspired by an article she read about a swimmer who had accomplished this incredible feat. Even before setting foot in a pool, the 33-year-old took a bold step and registered herself for the swim.
Over the next two years, she left no stone unturned in making this dream a reality. In June 2024, she successfully swam the unforgiving waters from Dover, UK, to France in 17 hours and 42 minutes. Along the way, she braved jellyfish stings, challenging tides, and the notorious ‘swimmer’s grave’, a circuit that trapped her in the same spot for over three hours.
Here’s how she achieved this ambitious goal, proving that with a strong will and determination, even the most daunting obstacles can be overcome.
A mother’s search for her confidence
Tanvi vividly remembers the day she returned to the pool in 2022, as if it were yesterday. Swimming after 18 years was one of her happiest moments, she recalls. It was the day she felt whole again, having rediscovered the missing piece of her life.
“My muscle memory kicked in and as I went underwater, I realised that this was what I wanted. This was my happy place. I cried that day as it gave me so much joy,” Tanvi tells The Better India.
Tanvi began her training for the English Channel swim under the guidance of coach Srikaanth Viswanathan, an accomplished open-water swimmer who had completed the triple crown of open-water swimming. Her practice sessions started at 4 am, requiring her to wake up at 3 am. The sudden shift in routine was challenging, especially with three-year-old twins. It was a rollercoaster ride, she admits, involving a complete overhaul of her lifestyle and schedule. Her children were too young to grasp the magnitude of what their mother was attempting.
Tanvi faced battles both physical and mental. In the early days, she struggled to swim for more than 20 minutes at a time. She found it difficult to accept her body and even to wear a swimsuit again.
“I would get tired very easily. I was feeling guilty about leaving my children. As I dealt with physical acceptance and mental challenges, my coach was very supportive. My mother too urged me to follow my dreams, as she couldn’t follow hers,” she adds.
Tanvi gradually progressed from swimming for just 20 minutes to swimming for seven to eight hours in the pool. Later, she began practising in open water, training in the dams around Nashik over the weekends. Although she was slowly overcoming her physical challenges, she struggled to achieve the necessary speed for a 100-metre lap during practice.
Something was holding her back — her father hadn’t given her his blessing.
Kiran Chavan couldn’t understand why his daughter wanted to put herself through such a demanding ordeal. He was apprehensive, knowing of people who had lost their lives attempting this challenge. “I didn’t want her to put herself in a life-threatening position. She was doing well in her business, as a mother and wife. Why put your life at risk? I wanted to protect my daughter,” says Kiran.
But Tanvi was determined and persuasive. When letters didn’t work, she asked her coach to convince her father. “When her coach met me and assured me that there was no risk of life and she would be taken care of, it convinced me,” he adds.
Magically, Tanvi was able to meet the required timing the next day and since then, there has been no looking back. She slowly gained her confidence back and started practice in earnest for the challenge.
The next big challenge to tackle was the cold conditions of the English Channel. To get acclimatised to cold water, Tanvi first started taking only cold showers. She also started sitting in ice baths for half an hour, which later increased to one hour. “I would sit in ice water from 2 am to 3 am to get used to it,” shares Tanvi.
She also practised in Nainital’s Naini lake for a week, which has conditions similar to the English Channel. Unfortunately, when she reached Nainital, it snowed, which made the water extremely cold. “My coach motivated me to swim. He said, ‘This is it’. I swam in 11 degrees Celsius water temperature, which helped my body get used to such cold conditions,” adds Tanvi.
Managing time became a significant challenge for Tanvi. She would practice in the morning from 4 am to 7 am, send the kids off to school, go to the office, and then practice again in the evening before finally heading to bed. By the end of each day, she found herself utterly exhausted. The physical pain and lack of proper sleep began to take a toll on her, hindering her recovery and adding to the overall strain.
To make more time for herself, she completely cut off from social media and social engagements during the last seven months of training. This simple change saved her almost four hours every day and she slept at 8:30 pm with her children.
Practice intensified over the last six months. Tanvi took a break from work two months before the challenge and focused only on practice. She would swim for eight hours daily, eat well, rest and recover.
One month before the actual attempt, Tanvi and her family went to Dover, UK to practise on the beach. Swimming in the exact same conditions helped the swimmer’s body get used to the cold water.
‘Never thought of giving up’
D-day: 29 June, 2024, 3:30 am.
Tanvi started the ‘Mount Everest of Swimming’ from Dover. In a boat following her were two pilots, an observer from the Channel Swimming Association, her coach, husband, and father.
The same father who was unwilling to let his daughter take such a big risk was now her biggest cheerleader. At 64, he had to wage a battle to be allowed on the boat. “They usually don’t allow people above 60 on the boat as there is a chance of sea sickness. I had to be there for Tanvi and had only juices for two days before and carried medicines to prevent vomiting,” says Kiran.
Tanvi started her swim on a high note, alongside seven other swimmers who were also attempting to conquer the English Channel. However, one of the biggest challenges she faced during her swim was jellyfish. Hundreds of them stung her, adding to the already immense difficulty of the journey. “It was very painful; I almost felt a shock, an electric current, making it difficult for my body to move for almost 20 minutes,” she says.
After swimming for nearly 11 to 12 hours, the weather took a turn for the worse, with high tides and strong currents making progress nearly impossible. Despite her continuous efforts, Tanvi found herself stuck in place. The observer on her support boat cautioned that crossing the channel would be difficult under such conditions. This treacherous region of the English Channel is notoriously known as the ‘swimmer’s grave’ due to its unforgiving nature.
For almost three hours, Tanvi was trapped in these relentless currents, her resilience tested to the limit. The situation grew even more daunting as three of her fellow swimmers were forced to abandon their attempts due to the worsening weather. “The waves were two to three metres in height and pulled you back to England. I was trapped in this and had to swim an extra 10 kilometres to reach the French coast,” says Tanvi.
However, Tanvi pressed on and covered the additional 10 kilometres due to the bad weather. When the observer asked if she wished to continue, it was an emphatic yes.
“I actually wanted to give up. I had vomited and had zero energy. It was thanks to my coach’s training that I was mentally fit to continue. He had told me that it is on days that you don’t feel like training are the days that you must show up. He told me that when your hands and legs reach their breaking point, you will feel like giving up. But that’s when you can’t give up!” says Tanvi.
To boost her morale, her husband showed her a video of their children and the coach showed her the Indian flag. “I had to swim for my country,” adds the businesswoman.
There was a risk of hypothermia, where the body temperature falls below 95 Degrees F, which can be fatal. Tanvi had to swim fast to avoid this. She popped a painkiller and swam fast enough to cut the current.
Finally, after 17 hours and 42 minutes, she reached the French coast at Wissant, swimming a whopping 42 kilometres. (The English Channel is actually 33 kilometres long).
“It was the biggest mission of my life. I feel fulfilled and extremely happy. Everyone knows me today as Tanvi’s father, what else do I need,” says Kiran.
While Tanvi was too tired to celebrate then, today, she is incredibly proud of what she achieved. “It was a life-changing moment,” says Tanvi.
To her mother, it felt as though her daughter had been born again. To her children, she is a magician, someone for whom nothing is impossible. For everyone witnessing her achievements, Tanvi is a powerful example of what a person can accomplish when they set their mind to it. So, what’s stopping you?
Edited by Pranita Bhat; Images Courtesy Tanvi Deore
