Completing the 5 km sea swim event at the Oceanman Asian Championship in Bali on July 8, 2023 in 2 hrs 19 mins, Zarir Baliwalla stood first in the men’s 60-69 years age category. "This result has given me a direct entry to the Oceanman World Championship in Phuket in December 2023,” Baliwalla informed Parsiana.
"The race wasn’t exactly an easy one as the sea conditions on that day were far from ideal. We had to overcome a strong wind, choppy waters and direct sun shining in our eyes on the return leg, making sighting difficult,” Baliwalla shared his experience. Although competitors in the 5 km race have the option of availing of one feeding point halt at 3.2 km, Baliwalla chose to swim through without any interruption for "break time is included in the final timing.
More than 150 swimmers across all age groups from all over the world participated in the 5 km race where 62-year-old was Baliwalla ranked 75th. The swimmer who came first, a teenager, completed the race in nearly 1 hr 15 mins. "If you don’t reach the 3 km marker in 1 hr 30 mins, the marshals will take you out of the race and if you don’t complete 5 km in 2 hrs 30 mins you’ll be declared DNF (did not finish),” revealed the swimmer.
Top: medals and trophy he won in swimming at Bali (above)
The three other races at the Bali meet covered a distance of 1 km, 2 km or 10 km. While there were over 20 swimmers in the 60 to 69 age category, most opted for the 2 km race, mentioned Baliwalla. Besides the Asian championship, Oceanman periodically conducts regional championships and world championships at different destinations.
Mandatory for participation in sea swims is the safety attire: "The orange belt at the waist is connected to a floatation device called a tow float. It offers no assistance, is an annoying hindrance in fact, but mandatory to wear along with swim cap,” stated Baliwalla. The ankle band has an electronic chip which registers the timing. "Good quality, perfect fit goggles are of paramount importance as they not only assist in visibility but protect the eyes from ingress of sea water. Leaky goggles could prove absolutely disastrous during a sea swim race,” stated the experienced swimmer.
"No special training has commenced as yet for the world championship. Swimming four to five days per week is an integral part of my life. But I will be ramping up my monthly practice mileage shortly and incorporating some strength training activities in my schedule as well. I do not envisage any special challenges. Just pray that the sea is calm on race day and the dreaded jelly fish decide to take a holiday!” Baliwalla who has participated in Olympic distance triathlons responded to queries from Parsiana.
Since sea swimming is not permitted along the Bombay shoreline, the director of opticians Baliwalla and Homi Private Limited mainly practices at the Breach Candy Club, logging in on an average 30 to 40 km of pool swimming every month. Around four or five times a year he visits Goa to practice with the Goa Open Water Swim Club and the Benaulim Swimmers Group. It is not only Zarir who has won prizes in the annual Goa Swimathon in the veterans section, even his wife Valerie (née Patel) won a prize this year in the veterans’ women 1 km race.
"The Mumbai Sea Swimmers are doing their very best to convince the maritime authorities that sea swimming under an organized environment is a safe activity and hopefully they will succeed. If that happens, necessary permissions will be granted and sea swimming activities will resume… Fingers crossed,” added Zarir.
He believes swimming is "one of the best activities for a person to stay fit… (for) all muscles of your upper and lower body get well exercised.” Zarir was quoted in the MumbaiMirror of July 16, "I am certainly no role model of good health due to my love for food and drinks, but I balance that by exercising.”