Kolkata: Competitors from Bangladesh, Spain and Thailand, alongside India, will take part in the 74th edition of the National Open Water Swimming Competition slated to get underway in Bengal's Murshidabad district from August 27, it was announced on Saturday.
Organised by the Murshidabad Swimming Association, and recognised by the Swimming Federation of India (SFI), the meet will have 81 km and 19 km categories.
This is the world's longest swimming meet.
The 81 km category will start from Ahiron Barrage Ghat in Murshidabad while the 19 km section will commence from Jiaganj Sadar Ghat. Both the categories will finish at Gorabazar Ghat.
In the 81 km category, there are 18 participants while 41 participants will vie for top honours in the 19 km men's category.
There will be 13 women competitors in the 19 km category.
Spain's Jose Luis Larrosa Chorro, Cesar Hernandez Ruiz and Ponce Daniel will take part in the 81 km men's category while Thailand's Andreas Hvass will be seen in action in the 19 km men's section.
The trio of Monirul Islam, Ashiqur Rahman and Asif Rana of Bangladesh will take part in the men's 81 km category while Najma Khatun, Sonia Aktar and Naima Akter will take part in the 19 km women's category.