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Indian Swim Team Completes Historic Catalina Channel Double Crossing
A six-person swimming team from Bengaluru completed a very difficult swim across and back across the Catalina Channel.
The channel is about 32 kilometres wide, but currents and waves made the swimmers travel farther.
They swam in turns for more than 29 hours.
The swim began on September 10, 2026, and ended the next day.
Much of it happened at night in cold, dark water.
Each swimmer spent about five hours swimming in the ocean.
The team says this was the first successful double crossing of the channel by an Asian team.
India’s Consul General in Los Angeles met the swimmers and praised their teamwork and determination.
The six-member SwimLife Orcas team from Bengaluru completed a two-way Catalina Channel relay on September 10–11, 2026.
The team finished in 29 hours and 24 minutes, pending final ratification by authorities.
The achievement is described as the Catalina Channel’s 12th successful double crossing since 1991 and the first by an Asian team.
Each swimmer completed five hours in cold, changing ocean conditions, swimming in one-hour rotations under official regulations.
India’s Consul General in Los Angeles, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa, congratulated the swimmers and coach Satish Kumar Mohan.
- Who
- The six-member SwimLife Orcas team from Bengaluru, coached by Satish Kumar Mohan, completed the crossing; India’s Consul General in Los Angeles, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa, later met them.
- What
- The team completed a two-way relay crossing of the Catalina Channel in 29 hours and 24 minutes, subject to final ratification.
- Where
- The swim took place between Santa Catalina Island and the Southern California mainland, and the team later met the consul general in Los Angeles.
- When
- The crossing took place on September 10–11, 2026; the team began at 8:17 a.m. on September 10.
- Why
- The team undertook the endurance challenge as an open-water swimming expedition, while the consul general recognized its athletic achievement and its significance for India.
Key facts
- Team
- SwimLife Orcas, a Masters swimming team from Bengaluru
- Team size
- Six swimmers
- Completion time
- 29 hours and 24 minutes, pending final ratification
- Reported milestone
- The 12th successful Catalina Channel double crossing since 1991 and the first by an Asian team
- Channel length
- Approximately 32 kilometres between Santa Catalina Island and the Southern California mainland
- Swimming format
- One-hour relay rotations under Catalina Channel Swimming Federation regulations
- Coach
- Satish Kumar Mohan, founder of SwimLife Academy
Sources
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