Creating Records for a Bigger Cause

While being driven for achievement, champions are often driven by a larger cause. Limca Book of Records has often come across records from champions of all hues whose sole mission has been to highlight a cause.

They may have followed their passion for their sport. But they did announce their larger goal was to highlight a particular issue for the community at large. Here’s a peek into the recent history of some of the champions of India for a cause…

Longest open water swim relay

The Sea Hawks, the six-member open water swimming team swam 433.11 km in the Arabian Sea, making it the world’s longest sea swimming in relay format. Led by Wing Commander Paramvir Singh, the team comprising Sgt Gulupili Narahari, Sgt Ankan Kumar Patel, LAC Vicky Tokas, Ganesh Palande and Manav Mehta started swimming from Dona Paula, Goa at 4.25 pm on Feb 13, 2015 and reached Kashid Beach, Alibaug, Mumbai at 4.24 pm on Feb 18, 2015. The team dedicated the swimmathon to the national mission ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padao’.

Longest solo kayaking in the sea

Kaustubh K Khade, a kayaker from Powai, Mumbai covered 415 km on the Arabian Sea in 17 days, making it the longest solo open sea kayaking event. Starting from Gateway of India in Mumbai at 7.27 am on Feb 14, 2015, he paddled 63 hr to reach Morjim in Goa at 12.22 noon on March 2, 2015. Kaustubh who has represented India at two Asian championships undertook the feat to promote kayaking and to raise money for an NGO.

Fastest north-south solo cycling

Santosh R Holi of Pune, Maharashtra completed a solo North-South India expedition on a normal (gearless) bicycle, covering 3,500 km in 23 days 8 hr 45 min. He started from Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir at 11.15 am on Nov 10, 2014 and reached Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu at 8.00 pm on Dec 3, 2014. He undertook the journey as a tribute to Swami Vivekananda on his 151st birth anniversary.

Fastest east-west cycling expedition

Nimesh Mansukhbhai Jivrajani of Bhavnagar, Gujarat completed the East-West India cycling expedition covering 3,876 km in 21 days 13 hr 10 min. He started from Tezu, Arunachal Pradesh at 5.30 am on Feb 1, 2015 and reached Koteshwar, Gujarat at 6.40 pm on Feb 22, 2015. He used a normal bicycle for the journey. He also carried the message of ‘Clean India Mission’.

Longest journey by car within a country

Three-member team comprising Ateef Abdulla, Deepak Shrivastava and Sheetal Shrivastava of Bengaluru, Karnataka completed the longest non-stop drive in a Mahindra XUV 500 covering 32,488 km in 38 days. They set off from Bengaluru at 8.30 am on April 30, 2015 and returned home at 11.30 am on June 7, 2015. The objective of their expedition, titled Drive Against Cancer, was to raise funds for cancer detection and treatment.