DOVER: The Pakistani champion marathon swimmer, 30-year-old Brojen Das, yesterday became the fastest man on earth to swim the English Channel from France to England. His time of 10 hours and 35 minutes clipped 15 minutes off the old record set up in August 1950 by Egyptian Hassan Abdel Rehim.

The Pakistani champion left Gap-Gris-Nez on the French coast near Calais in the evening and arrived between Saint Margaret’s Bay and Deal at 0330 GMT. Brojen Das has the unique distinction of swimming the channel six times, “twice more than anyone else” as he said after his feat.

Brojen Das has been swimming in competitions for the last 15 years. He is one of the most decorated swimming champions of the world.

In 1955, he won the first place in the All-Pakistan Swimming Championships, having beaten records in the 100 and 400 yards prize evens. In 1957, he won first prize in a 26-mile race in the Dacca Club competitions, covering the distance in 15 hours and 28 minutes. In October 1957, he swam 60 miles non-stop in 42 hours, thus creating a new Asian record.

In March 1958, Das swam 42 miles in five rivers of East Pakistan in 13 hours. In July the same year, he took the third place in the 33-kilometre Capri-Naples Amateur Marathon race, in which 33 swimmers from all over the world participated. Das’s timing there was 13 hours, 18 minutes and 52 seconds.

In August 1958, he won the second place (with a 500 sterling cash award) in the English Channel swimming race, his timing being 15 hours. Since then, he has been swimming the Channel every year.

Das, almost a national hero in his own country, was once received by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and was photographed with the Queen Mother.—Agencies