Bula thrilled with World record

Long distance swimmer Bula Choudhury, who successfully conquered the treacherous Strait of Gibraltar with a record timing, said her experience of crossing the English Channel twice helped her in swimming the Strait.

"I'm thrilled to have achieved this feat, more so because the weather was unfriendly and the water extremely cold," she told her brother on phone from Morocco.

The 30-year old swimmer created a new women's World record on Friday by clocking 3h:45m.12 seconds in crossing the 30-km distance between Tarifa and Morocco.

The earlier record was held by India's Kavita Thakur with a timing of 4h.00m.41 seconds.

"The weather was very bad when I started swimming but fortunately it improved at the midway stage. The water was very chilly but my past experience in Channel swimming helped me a lot," Bula said.

She said "It is a great experience swimming there. I'm glad that I could set a new women's record."

Bula was expected to return to the city on August 23 and a felicitation function has been planned for her at the airport.

"We all feel very proud for Bula. We are eagerly awaiting her arrival. We knew she could do it, and she did not disappoint us," her brother Milan said.