Jiya Rai Height, Age, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Jiya Rai

• Jiya Rai is an international open-water para swimmer from India and holds a world record in open-water swimming.

• When Jiya was 15 months old, her parents noticed that she couldn’t speak. They took her to a doctor who advised them to spend more time with her.

• At Jiya’s second birthday party, she showed no interest in her cake or gifts. She did not speak and tried to run to a vacant room.

• Another doctor diagnosed her with autism spectrum disorder, which was new to the family.

• After that, Jiya’s parents started working with a paediatrician on speech and occupational therapies. They realized Jiya could learn, but it took her longer.

• While playing outside the house, Jiya faced harsh remarks from adults and children, who either made fun of her or ignored her, sometimes calling her “mental.”

• The family stopped going to the park and found a local swimming pool that was less crowded. Jiya began swimming when she was two years old and loved it.

• When she was five years old, she learnt swimming breaststroke, backstroke, freestyle, and butterfly.

• Jiya started going to school when she was six years old but did not have friends and was often teased and called “mental.” Her mother, Rachana, quit her job to be Jiya’s shadow teacher.

• Two months after starting school, Jiya won two inter-class swimming medals and received a standing ovation from her classmates.

• After that, her parents increased her practice time from 30 minutes to 2.5 hours a day.

• Jiya has won several swimming competitions. Initially, she did not understand if she won or lost, but she gradually realized that trophies meant she won, and she started showing a victory sign after crossing the finish line first.

• In 2014, at an inter-school competition in Mumbai, a coach named Vidyadhar Gharat noticed Jiya’s potential and advised her parents that she could swim for India.

• Gharat had no experience working with autistic children. Jiya did not follow his instructions, so her mother, Rachana, decided to learn to swim and become Jiya’s shadow coach.

• Rachana practised swimming, while at home, Jiya and her father, Madan, watched videos of American swimmer Michael Phelps.

• In 2017, she began practising open-water swimming.

• When she was nine years old, Jiya competed in a 1-km swimming race in Malvan, Maharashtra, finishing sixth out of 200 competitors.
  

  A childhood picture of Jiya Rai

• In 2019, when she was ten years old, Jiya participated in the National Open Water Sea Swimming Championship in Porbandar, Gujarat.

• On 15 February 2020, Jiya became the world’s first girl with autism to swim 14 km from Elephanta Island to Gateway of India in 3 hours and 27 minutes.

• In January 2021, Jiya became the first para swimmer to reach Vasai Fort by swimming 22 km from Arnala Fort to Vasai Fort in 7 hours and 4 minutes.

• Jiya swam from Mumbai’s Bandra-Worli Sea Link to Gateway of India in 8 hours and 40 minutes in February 2021, breaking an Indian swimmer’s record.
  

  Jiya Rai during a swimming competition

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi featured Jiya in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ episode on 18 February 2021. Her records are recognized in the Asia Book of Records and the India Book of Records.

• In March 2021, Jiya won three gold medals in the 20th National Para-Swimming Championship 2020.

• After that, Jiya’s coach, Vidyadhar Gharat, started training her in the Arabian Sea. Her father, Madan, analyzed data to find the calmest sea conditions and chose 20 March 2022, for her swim.

• Rachana prepared Jiya mentally for the challenge by marking the date on a calendar and reminding her daily that it would be her most difficult swim.

• On 20 March 2022, Jiya swam across the Palk Strait from Talaimannar (Sri Lanka) to Dhanuskodi (India), covering 29 kilometres in 13 hours and 10 minutes. At 13 years and 10 months old, she became the youngest and fastest female to swim across the Palk Strait.
  

  Jiya Rai after swimming across the Palk Strait from Talaimannar (Sri Lanka) to Dhanuskodi (India) in 2022

• In December 2022, Jiya swam 1,100 kilometres as part of a six-member relay team from Mumbai to Goa and back to Vasai Fort, completing the swim in 11 days, 22 hours, and 13 minutes. She was the youngest and only female participant.
  

  Jiya Rai after winning a swimming competition in 2022

• Jiya holds three world records in open water swimming for 14 km, 22 km, and 36 km in the para category.

• As of 2024, she has won 32 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze medal in national and state open water sea swimming championships.

• In July 2024, Jiya became the world’s youngest and fastest female para swimmer to swim solo across the English Channel, covering 34 kilometres from Abbot’s Cliff in England to Pointe de la Courte Dune in France in 17 hours and 25 minutes.