Orthopaedically handicapped, Masadur Rahman Baidya of Kolkata, West Bengal, India, conqueror of the English Channel, has become the first handicapped swimmer in the world as a double amputee below the knee to cross the strait of Gibraltar in the year 2001. The 32-year old Baidya took four hours 20 minutes to emerge victorious in his battle against waves in the difficult strait of Gibraltar on tuesday. "Masadur plunged into the water from a boat located at Tarifa Island in Spain at 8.20 a.m. and touched the finishing line at a natural point on the Morroccan coast at 12.40 p.m. covering the distance of about 22 km" Nishith Ganguli, manager of the ace swimmer said. For the last 12 days, baidya has been preparing and waiting for the weather to clear for the swim. He has won many long distance open swimming tournaments all over India including the 80 Kilometres river swimming competition in the Ganges and crossed the unpredictable english channel in 1997. Ganguli said "the Gibraltar strait differs because of its specific characteristics where the swimming starts from a boat located at Tarifa island. normally a swimmer takes about five to five and a half hours to cross the straight but Masadur has done it in a record time."
Masadur lost both his legs from the knee after a train accident in his childhood. He is out to create waves in the world of long-distance swimming: He has a target of conquering as many as 12 channels all over the world.
