Teen Swimmer Prisha Tapre Conquers English Channel Challenge

Earlier this month, our very own Lydia caught up with 16-year-old Prisha Tapre who achieved the extraordinary venture of swimming across the English Channel in September 2024

Earlier this month, our very own Lydia caught up with 16-year-old Prisha Tapre who achieved the extraordinary venture of swimming across the English Channel in September 2024, whilst also raising more than £3000 for a charity close to her heart called Akshaya Patra, which provides school meals to underprivileged children in the UK and India. Prisha explains how the journey to this massive accomplishment began in 2020, when she was just 12 years old and how the process has transformed her to a completely different person. 

Growing up as “just a little girl from Watford Swimming Club,” Prisha initially found the idea of swimming the channel extremely daunting. She recalls being terrified ahead of her first open water training session at Denham Lake, where her coach, Jeremy Irvine, began guiding her. Despite the initial tears and fears, Prisha found that as soon as she got into the water, she was not scared anymore and began admiring the beauty of the nature around her.

The path to the Channel Swim was definitely not easy. Prisha’s earlier swims began at 1km and slowly progressed to 3km, where she thought would be her limit. However, under Jeremey’s coaching, she pushed herself further and further, eventually completing 10-hour training swims in preparation for the crossing of the Channel. Prisha credits Jeremy for helping her believe in her abilities and grow both mentally and physically. “I’ve come so far, and I have to thank Jeremy for that,” she said.

Prisha opened up about the fact that one of the biggest challenges she faced during this feat is the maintenance of mental resilience. She states “swimming is 60% mental and 40% physical” emphasising the importance of staying mentally strong and determined throughout the entire process.

On the day of the big swim, obstacles such as road closures and struggling to make the starting point on time, left Prisha feeling nervous. However, once being surrounded by friends and family on the boat, these nerves eased, and she took on the journey by starting at 2AM and swimming in pitch black – something she had little experience with – but pushed forward bravely.

The journey across the Channel presented physical challenges also, including choppy waters, jellyfish stings and navigating around rocks near the French shore. Nonetheless, Prisha found the beauty in these challenges, adapting and even embracing the jellyfish sting as a “reminder that I’m alive.” After successfully reaching France and completing her swim, Prisha was greeting with hugs from her loved ones and declared,” Let’s do a two -way next year!”

Looking back at her triumph, Prisha highlights how transformative the journey has been for her personally too. Open water swimming became her escape and her way of coping with stress, especially while balancing the demands of school and GCSE exams. She credits the sports with helping her manage both pressures of academics and swimming.

 Coach Jeremy Irvine, who also swam the Channel himself, applauded Prisha for her resilience throughout the process and highlighted that the dedication and support of her parents – who drove her to countless training sessions – helped her succeed and achieve her goal.

Through her swim, Prisha raised money for the charity Akshaya Patra, with the funds helping provide nutritious meals to children in the UK and India, an achievement that makes her accomplishment all the more meaningful.

Prisha Tapre’s journey across the English Channel, at just 16, is a testament to the power of perseverance, mental strength and the support of a strong community can have in accomplishing a lifelong dream, whilst also becoming an inspiration to others both in and out of the water.