Rakesh Biswas came first in the country's longest swimming competition in the river Bhagirathi here today.
A local boy, Biswas took 11 hours, 23 minutes and 29 seconds to swim 81 km in freestyle from Ahiron to Baharampur in Murshidabad district.
Biswas was followed by Chiranjeet Biswas of Baharampur and Tahira Nasreen of Uluberia in Howrah district.
Altogether, 17 swimmers participated in the 71th annual edition of the competition organised by Murshidabad District Swimming Association.
The participants included swimmers from Bangladesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, besides West Bengal.
