Theni boy, 14, becomes youngest to swim North Channel – Times of India

CHENNAI: N A Snehan, a Class IX student of Shanti Niketan School in Theni, swam the 35-km North Channel between Ireland and Scotland on September 20, becoming the youngest to cross the channel. His coach Vijayakumar told reporters in Madurai on Tuesday, along with the 14-year-old boy, that Snehan received a certificate for achieving the feat.

The boy had crossed Palk Strait in 2021, taking 19.45 hours to cover the 60-km distance from Rameswaram to Talaimannar and back.


He was part of a six-member-team from India that crossed the 35-kilometre North Channel in 14 hours and 39 minutes in severe cold climate and facing other dangers like jellyfish and small sharks. The team started swimming from Robbie Island in Northern Ireland at 6.30am and reached Port Patrick in Scotland at 9.09pm that day.

Vijayakumar said he met Snehan five years ago and trained him in swimming. He has won several long-swimming medals at the state and national level. He had trained him to cross the Palk Strait. For swimming the North Channel, they had to expose him to colder climates. They trained for a while at Kodaikanal Lake first and later he took the boy to Arunachal Pradesh. “He qualified for swimming in colder conditions and was selected to be part of the team crossing the North Channel,” he said.

The team travelled to North Ireland and trained in a port city near Belfast. They practised for 20 days before Snehan swam the channel. “He now aspires to undertake long-distance swimming across English Channel, Gibraltar Strait and international channels. We need more swimmers like Snehan from Tamil Nadu and we also need sponsors and the government to support these young talented children,” he added. Snehan credited his success to his parents N Neethirajan and Anusa as well as coach Vijayakumar. “We need to keep practising for the big day, and hard work never fails,” he said.