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Mihir Sen was a trendsetter whose feats in the high seas opened the floodgates for other Indian swimmers to excel in long distance swimming. On September 27, 1958, Mihir became the first Asian to swim the English Channel when he crossed the Channel in 14 hours and 45 minutes.
The year 1966 proved to be a watershed for Mihir Sen as he swam across the seven seas of the five continents in one calendar year. In April, braving high tides and shark-infested waters, he swam across the Palk Straits, the sea between India and Sri Lanka. In August, he crossed the Straits of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco and one month later became the world's first man to swim the Straits of Dardanelles.
In the same calendar year, Mihir also swam across the Bosphorus and the Panama Canal.
Mihir Sen was awarded the Padma Shri in 1959 and in 1967 he received the Padma Bhushan.
