Brojen Das

Athlete IDATH-1000724

PAKPakistanSport:Swimming

Biography

Brojen Das was born on 9 December 1927 in Kuchiamora, in the region now known as Bangladesh. His Channel career took place while that region was East Pakistan, and his country is recorded as Pakistan. He developed his swimming in the rivers around Dhaka before taking on international marathon races.

In 1958 Das became the first Asian swimmer to cross the English Channel, finishing first among the men in that year’s Channel race. Further crossings followed, bringing his total to six by 1961. His France-to-England swim that September took 10 hours and 35 minutes and established a speed record that stood until 1964.

Das held the CSA’s King of the Channel title from 1960 to 1974. He entered the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 1965.

English Channel record

First Asian Channel swimmer · Six successful crossings

Crossing details, recordings & verification

Born: 9 December 1927
Birthplace: Kuchiamora, Bikrampur, Munshiganj — now Bangladesh
Historical country in records: Pakistan; his home region was East Pakistan during his Channel career
Successful Channel crossings: Six, completed between 1958 and 1961
King of the Channel: 1960–1974
Hall of Fame: International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, 1965

Selected Channel swims

First successful Channel crossing, 1958

Solo swim

1958 · exact day not recorded here

France → England

Elapsed time · 14h 52m

Start clock · Clock time not confirmed

Finish clock · Clock time not confirmed

Sources disagree · See the crossing record for qualifications and supporting evidence.

France-to-England record — 21 September 1961

Solo swim

Thursday, 21 September 1961 (recorded swim date)

France → England

Elapsed time · 10h 35m

Start clock · Clock time not confirmed

Finish clock · Clock time not confirmed

Published account checked · See the crossing record for qualifications and supporting evidence.

Other events & swims

Capri–Naples marathon swim

Open-water swimming · Race

1958 · exact day not confirmed

Capri to Naples, Italy

Completed the Capri-to-Naples race.

Elapsed time · 13h 18m

Historical account checked · Details and qualifications are in the career evidence.

Capri–Naples marathon swim

Open-water swimming · Race

1959 · exact day not confirmed

Capri to Naples, Italy

Completed the race again in 1959.

Historical account checked · Details and qualifications are in the career evidence.

Career milestones

First Asian Channel swimmer

1958

Completed the crossing and finished first among the men in the Channel race.

King of the Channel

1960

Became the first swimmer to reach four successful CSA Channel crossings.

France-to-England speed record

21 September 1961

Completed the France-to-England record swim in 10 hours 35 minutes.

Hall of Fame induction

1965

Recognised as an Honor Swimmer by the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.

English Channel questions

Which English Channel swims are included for Brojen Das?: This profile includes 2 selected solo performances for Brojen Das. It is a selected history, not a complete career total. A continuous multi-way swim counts as one performance.
When was Brojen Das’s featured English Channel swim?: The featured swim took place in 1958. Its exact day is not confirmed here. Conflicting details are identified in the crossing record.
How long did Brojen Das’s featured Channel swim take?: The featured solo crossing has a published elapsed time of 14 hours and 52 minutes. Published sources disagree about details of this swim; the crossing record explains the differences.

Achievements & next milestones

Achievements update from recorded results. A tick means the supporting results are verified.

No eligible completed results are linked yet. Link a completed result to start the achievement collection.

Next milestones

First recorded finish
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0 of 1 recorded

Latest results

Selected swimming performances appear in the English Channel record above.

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