50 year old record falls, as Roshan swims across Palk Strain in record time

Colombo (News 1st); Sri Lanka Airforce Swimmer Leading Aircraftman Roshan Abeysundara set a new Asian record by swimming 59 kilometers and 300 meters across the Palk Strait in 28 hours, 19 min 43 seconds.

Leading Aircraftman Roshan Abeysundara entered the Record Book renewing V.S. Kumar Anandan’s 50-year-old record which was set in 1971 by swimming the Palk Strait in 51 hours. Roshan swam from Mannar to Danuskodi, Rameshwaran in India and back, covering a distance of 59.3 Kms. During his preparation for, Leading Aircraftman Roshan Abeysundara renewed the National open water swimming record twice within a short time period. He created a new record by swimming a 25Km distance from Matara to Koggala on January 3, 2021 clocking a time of 10 hours and 37 minutes and went on to renew the record by swimming a distance of 49Km from Matara to Hikkaduwa and back to Unawatuna on 27 February 2021 with a timing of 23 hours and 10 minutes. Leading Aircraftman Abeysundara is a Level III swimming instructor affiliated to American Swimming Coaches Association and has undergone training from the legendary Julian Bolling. He is an experienced life guard who has obtained the Level II standard from Sri Lanka Life Saving. Born 1989 in the Southern coastal city of Talalla, Leading Aircraftman Abeysundara is a born swimmer whose forte being open water swimming. He entered competitive swimming as a schoolboy at the Matara Central College.