Mumbai Masters Swimmer Kurian Jacob Sets Sights on 2027 World Record in Kansai
Mumbai-based former international banker Kurian Jacob has set his sights on breaking the world record in the 200-metre freestyle event at the 2027 World Masters Games in Kansai, Japan, following a standout performance at the 2025 World Masters Games in Taipei where he won nine medals.
Jacob, who retired from international banking in 2017, began his competitive swimming career late in life. Swimming had been an exercise routine during his working years while he pursued athletics in his student days, but he did not enter competitive meets until 2019. Persuaded by college friends to enter a state-level Masters swimming competition, he won a few medals before competing in a national meet that ended without medals, motivating him to train systematically.
Using YouTube as his coach, Jacob refined his technique and qualified for international competition in Finland in 2023. He returned from Finland with three silver and two bronze medals while setting personal-best timings in the 400-metre and 800-metre events. Subsequent international events followed in Cleveland in 2024, Taipei in 2025, and Abu Dhabi in 2026.
His best individual outing came at the 2025 World Masters Games in Taipei, where he won nine medals, including two golds. One of those gold medals came in the three-kilometre open-water event, which marked his first open-water competition at an international venue.
To prepare for Kansai in 2027, where he will target a world record in the 75-80 age category, Jacob maintains a strict regimen. He swims three kilometres each morning, trains six days a week under a UK-based coach who manages his speed, endurance, and technique, and visits the gym three days a week while incorporating yoga, stretching, and intermittent fasting into his routine.
Through the WalkAbout athlete program, Jacob is also advocating for formal recognition and support for senior athletes in India's sports policy. He is calling for corporate sponsorship, financial assistance for international travel, specialized coaching, and incentives for Masters medal winners to promote community sports and healthy ageing.
