TEAM
The English Channel has so many heroes – past and present – that it was impossible to pick just one for our special Channel issue. So Sarah Warwick spoke to four legends from the Channel swimming world
THE SWIMMER: Kevin Murphy
For most of us, swimming the Channel is a once-in-a-lifetime-
if-we’re-lucky kind of deal, but for Kevin Murphy it’s almost a regular event. His 34 (count 'em) successful crossings – 28 solos and three doubles – have taken him from 19-year- old rookie to 62-year-old veteran, and led to his inauguration as King of the English Channel, a title awarded to the most successful male swimmer. It’s a relief to hear – as lesser swimmers, if not mortals – that even aſt er all those successful at empts, swimming the Channel still poses a challenge: “I hate it when I’m in there – it hurts too much and I feel too ill,” Murphy says. “I hate it when I’m approaching land and never seem to get there. But I love knowing I have the will to beat that, and I love the elation as I touch the sand or rocks.” Aſt er a Channel swim, he says his fi rst thought is: “Never again”; his second: “How can I go one bet er?" He believes his drive to swim further and longer than others stems from his childhood. A self-proclaimed “tubby lit le kid”, he couldn’t win speed races but excelled at endurance, winning half-mile and mile-long races from an early age. By 14 he would race over three miles and at 16 he set a new record for the Channel with his relay team, before conquering it solo for the fi rst time before his 20th birthday. Murphy describes the Channel as “a supreme test of both physical and mental endurance. There is a huge sense of achievement in overcoming all the odds and all my personal demons, which tell me while I’m out there that I can’t do it.” Of all his swims, his only regret is not having completed a triple crossing; he was the fi rst to at empt one in 1975, but his swim was aborted aſt er 52 hours. Despite receiving treatment for a shoulder injury, he says he’s not ready to give up yet – “even if I have to hobble down the beach on my zimmer frame”. While training for a swim, he’ll be in the water for six hours a day, under the ever-watchful eye of Freda Streeter. And when he’s not swimming the Channel or training for a swim, Kevin can be found working as a broadcast journalist for the BBC or carrying out his duties as secretary of the Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation (CS&PF). What about those who wish to follow his lead? “Keep put ing one arm in front of the other. Keep swimming and you will get there,” is his message to admirers. Why follow this advice? Well – it’s certainly stood him in good stead.
HE’S NOT READY TO GIVE UP SWIMMING YETEVEN IF HE HAS TO HOBBLE DOWN THE BEACH ON HIS ZIMMER FRAME
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