Conquering all five oceans in this world is no meager feat. Meet Bhakti Sharma who did just that. Her love for swimming began at age two and a half, mostly inspired by her mother cum coach Leena Sharma, who is an expert swimmer herself.

One of the many records she holds is that of the first swim by a three-member women’s relay team across the English Channel, with her mother Leena Sharma and friend Priyanka Gehlot.

Bhakti’s first open water swimming was completed at the age of fourteen, a 16 km swim in 2003, from Uran Port in Navi Mumbai to Gateway of India, and since then her career graph has rocketed resulting in her being the youngest swimmer in the world to swim in all five oceans, a feat she achieved in 2010.

The most important milestone in her swimming career was when she became the youngest in the world and the first Asian woman to swim in the open waters of the Antarctic Ocean, in 2015.

 

 

In 2010, Bhakti Sharma received the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award from President Pranab Mukherjee.

She holds a bachelor's degree in Commerce from Mohan Lal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, Rajasthan, where she was primarily brought up. She holds a master's degree from Symbiosis School of Media and Communication, Bengaluru in Communications Management.

“Don’t give up when you are hardest hit. Rest if you must but do not quit.” – This poem by her friend was her mantra for success in the cold Antarctic waters.

 

 

Blog By Chithra Prabhakaran