IPS officer swims against the tide for awareness
Maharashtra senior IPS IGP Krishna Prakash has added another feather to his cap with another achievement of swimming against the tide literally to complete the daunting task of swimming from Gateway of India to Elephanta caves in the Arabian Sea.
Contrary to the popular swimming route of Elephanta caves to Gateway of India in which competitive swimmers ride the waves of the high tides towards gateway, ironman Krishna Prakash took the challenge to swim against the waves and complete distance of 16.20kms in 5 hours 26 minutes from Gateway of India to Elephanta Caves.
Krishna Prakash, at present posted as IGP VIP Security, dedicated the expedition to ’Drowning Prevention Awareness’. He hopes that this will inspire young Indians to try their best to bag an Olympic medal in 10k open water swimming.
The event was organised by the National Institute of Swimming, recognised by the World Open Water Swimming Association and certified by the Swimming Association of Maharashtra affiliated to the Maharashtra Olympic Association.
Jayaprakash Duble, President, JD Sports Foundation, and Jayant Duble, an internationally renowned swimmer, supervised the swim with flag off by Olympian Suraj Karkera and Olympian Dhananjay Mahadik presided over the felicitation ceremony after the end of the event.
After completing his swim, Prakash gave a powerful message to the youths – “Build strong health, build strong nation” with emphasise on the important role of health and fitness in building a prosperous and vibrant nation.
“It is a testimony to his commitment to promote the importance of fitness and health, not only for the youth and sports enthusiasts, but for the entire nation, said Olympian Dhananjay Mahadik.
The 1998 batch IPS already holds the Guiness Wolrd Book of Record of the first Indian Government servant, civil servant and uniformed services officer, including armed forces and para military forces, to earn the Iron Man title for completing the Ironman Triathlon in 2017. Prakash had finished the event in 2017. Participants are required to complete a 3.8km swim, a 180.2km-long bicycle ride, and a 42.2km run within a set time frame of 16-17 hours.
A health and sports fitness enthusiast, Krishna Prakash has served in many capacities including Pimpri Chinchwad Police Commissioner and Additional Police Commissioner, Mumbai Police South Region.
He is passionate about tribal welfare and deeply involved in the rehabilitation of the nomadic Phase Pardhis tribal community, denotified by the British rulers as brutal and ruthless dacoits, to dissuade them from illegal and criminal activities.