NON-COMPETITIVE BRIDGE SWIM JUDGED BEST
The inaugural 14km Bridge to Bridge swim between Henley and Marlow, which took place on the Thames on 21 August, was judged a complete success. The event, which was a non- competitive, sportive event rather than a race, at racted people of all ages and abilities. Tom Kean and Jeremy Laming, who have been swimming the route for a number of years, set up the race as a non-competitive sister event to the ever-popular Henley Swim Classic.
“We think the sportive style has masses of room to grow,” Keen said. “It’s relatively untapped in the swimming world." It was clearly a popular experience, with
Adam Ackland – one of the 83 swimmers who took part – describing it as, “The best open water swim I have ever done.” (You can see Adam’s full report on our website). Next year’s event has been scheduled for 19 August.
henleyswim.com
ALL AT SEA
The idea of taking the plunge into matrimony was taken literally by one couple recently, when they got married on a rock off the Devon coast aſt er swimming out there. Becky Watkinson, 24 and Samson Hutson, 26, along with rector Paul Hanley and 50 guests, all donned wetsuits and splashed out to the remote North Devon location for the ceremony. The pair, both outdoors instructors, said they’d wanted something diff erent and pronounced it “a special day, a wedding with a diff erence”.
KIDS A WELCOME ADDITION MAGIC
As many open water swimming events
restrict access for younger swimmers, it was good to see that the annual Newlyn to Penzance swim in Cornwall on 19 August encouraged children. The race at racted over 500 participants, and children aged 12 and under swam a separate, shorter course of 1,100m than the adults’ 1.3km and started closer to the shore. This was still a challenging swim in a choppy, open sea, but that didn’t seem to daunt the
50 or so youngsters – some as young as seven – from taking part. Most wore surfi ng wetsuits in the sub-17˚C water but several swam in normal swimsuits. Parents were allowed to swim alongside, which surely helped less- confi dent swimmers take on the challenge.
Older swimmers and teenagers took part in the main event, with fi ve swimmers from the 13-to- 16-year group fi nishing in the top 15, including Lauren Quigley who fi nished third overall. Lauren’s
brother, City of Manchester swimmer Grant Quigley, won the race in 15:29, more than 30 seconds ahead of second place Dave Bartlet . With an entry fee of only £8,
the event off ers great value for money, and all profi ts go to the Macmillan Cancer Support charity. Delighted organiser Nick Brooks said, “Including the juniors, 538 swimmers took part, a new record, easily beating the 453 from last year. Open water swimming really has taken off since the last Olympics.”
NUMBERS Facts and fi gures we found out this month…
100 million
The age of the oldest person to cross the English Channel
29.5˚C
The estimated number of sharks killed by man each year (see page 40)
70
The maximum temperature for 5km swims, as outlined by the US Aquatic Sports Convention
107,062 13
Kids allowed: they loved the Cornish swim
The number of strokes David Walliams took to swim the length of the Thames while raising £1 million for Sport Relief
The number of solo crossings of the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland
35 hrs 18 m
The time taken for The Swim team to cross 56 miles of the Irish Sea
13
Photo © Caitlin Griffi ths Bird
Photo © Aqua Sphere
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