17-yr-old Jiya Rai becomes first girl with Autism to swim solo across Catalina Channel

Mumbai: Swimming against the odds, Jiya Rai, a 17-year-old Mumbai girl with Autism Spectrum Disorder, became the first female para-swimmer to successfully swim solo across the Catalina Channel near Los Angeles, USA.

Jiya covered a distance of 34 km in 15 hours, 01 minute and 43 seconds, starting at midnight on September 25 from Catalina Island, and finished at the coast of California near San Pedro on September 26, 2025.

She is the daughter of Madan Rai, MC-at-Arms II of the Indian Navy and has dedicated this swim for Autism awareness.

Jiya Rai has won international acclaim for her swimming prowess including world record for her swim across English Channel in 2024 and Palk Strait in 2022.

She is a recipient of World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) Award 2024, National Award of Disabilities 2023 and Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar in 2024.

The WOWSA Award is the highest adventure award in the world for Open Water Swimming and started in 2008.

This award was announced on 17 February 25 at San Francisco, California.

Jiya is the first Indian Open Water Swimmer to receive this prestigious award.

On 28 July 24, Jiya Rai successfully swam across the famous English Channel, a distance of 34 kms, in 17 hrs 25 min and became the youngest female para swimmer in the world to cross the English Channel in Solo Swimming. In 150 years of Channel swimming history, Jiya is also the first Autism spectrum disorder Girl in the world to cross the English Channel in solo swimming.

Jiya is recipient of National Award of Disability 2023 and Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar-2022, a highest award of citizens below 18 years of Age.

Despite having a disability, she is an international open water para swimmer of India and world record holder in open water swimming.

She is on a mission to become the world first and youngest para swimmer to swim seven oceans.

Between 17-29 December 2022, she swam 1,100 km as a six-members relay team from Mumbai to Goa and back to Vasai Fort in 11 days 22 hours and 13 minutes. She was the youngest and only female participant of this team.

Jiya has brought laurels to India by swimming across Palk Strait in World Record Time from Talaimannar (Srilanka) to Dhanuskodi (India) a distance of 29 km in 13 hours and 10 minutes on 20 March 2022.

She achieved this feat at the age of 13 years and 10 Months and became World Youngest and Fastest Female Swimmer to swim across the Palk Strait.

Jiya has earlier held the three world Record in Open Water Swimming in 14 km, 22 km and 36 km in para Category and her swimming record was appreciated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Mann Ki Baat.

Her swimming achievements have been registered in Asia Books of Records and India Books of Records.