Mother-son duo of endurance swimmers, Aruna Venugopal and Hrishikesh Suresh from Bengaluru emerged the fastest swimmers in the challenging 10km open sea swim race on the concluding day of the Cetaphil-Sun Aquamoga 2026 at the Bambolim beach.
Hrishikesh swam strongly to record an impressive 3:40:15 hours for his 10km, while his mother, Aruna clocked an equally impressive 3:51:03 hrs for the same distance.
If that was not commendable enough, Karthik Kolli, a 16-year-old autistic teenager from Hyderabad, made light work of his disabilities and emerged the fastest male swimmer in the 5km race category winning his race in a very quick 1:44:40 hrs.
Aruna is a seasoned long distance sea swimmer having crossed multiple channels including the English channel solo. In July 2026, the mother-son combination swam the Gibraltar channel. Says Hrishikesh, “My mother is my role model and inspiration. I started swimming at age 5 and was a competitive swimmer in school and college. However, I have decided to become a long distance swimmer like my mother now.” The mother-son swim close to 20 kms in the swimming pool every week.
Karthik, too has been a prodigious talent despite his disability. Says Karthik’s father, Ravi Kolli, “Karthik has been swimming since 2019 only, but has become a very fast endurance swimmer in a short time. However, he needs an experienced swimmer to guide him in races.”
Justine Mellocastro of Mandrem, Goa, an accomplished open water swimmer was Karthik’s guide in the 5km race today.
Among women swimmers, Vandita Dhariyal of Dabolim, Goa winner of the 2km race on Saturday, once again impressed by emerging the fastest 5km women’s swimmer today clocking 1:41:20 hrs.
RESULTS:
5km male
1. Karthik Kolli, Hyderabad, 1:44:40
2. Swaroop Dodawad, Dharwad, 1:53:40
3. Shankar Hole, Pune, 1:55:27
5km women
4. Vandita Dhariyal, Dabolim, Goa, 1:41:20
5. Justine Mellocastro, Mandrem, Goa, 1:44:40
6. Gunjan Parulkar, Pune, 1:59:11
10km men
7. Hrishikesh Suresh, Bengaluru, 3:40:15
8. Srikanth Viswanathan, Bengaluru, 3:46:55
9. Sanjay Limaye, Pune, 3:50:56
10km women
10. Aruna Venugopal, Bengaluru, 3:51:03
11. Virkein, Nachinola, Goa, 4:14:44
