Readers' Swims
Immerse yourself in fellow swimmers' personal narratives, sharing their swimming stories and memorable experiences.
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Fergal Somerville completes 34km swim around Inismor
The swim involved battling the complex tidal currents of Galway Bay and took 13.5 hours
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“My first swimming holiday transformed how I swim”
When an injured knee ruled out Alison Radevsky's chances of relying on her usual breaststroke on her swimming holiday in…
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How hard is it to swim the Channel as part of a relay?
We spoke with Louise Campbell, a partner with Moore Barlow LLP and a member of the Aspire Eagles, who crossed…
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Swims that shaped me: Ella Foote
Much like books we've read, places we've visited and people we've met, our swim experiences shape us. In this new…
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Treading water pt2: mastering front crawl breathing
Now into her second month of training for her first open water event, digital journalist and beginner swimmer Abi Whyte…
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Jessica Hepburn: Why I swim
Jessica became the first woman in the world to achieve ‘The Sea, Street, Summit Challenge’ – swim the English Channel,…
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A Winter Swimming Mind: Three Lessons
In what ways are our minds always winter swimming? When extended into ritual, winter swimming can transform into a praxis…
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Aftermath at the lido
Reader Laura Davies' poem beautifully captures the aftermath of a January storm at Tooting Bec Lido.
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Celebrating different abilities
Emma Jane Lancaster hasn’t let surgeries, medical conditions and a colostomy stop her swimming.
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Menna’s reflections on another year of full moon swimming
It's Menna Jones' second year of swimming under every full moon – a challenge that for her has now become…
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Swim for the whales
Daniel Shailer shares how Stephanie Montero Bending swam across Banderas Bay, Mexico, for the first time, galvanising a community of…
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Oldest person to earn a Triple Crown
Ed Horne tackles 20 Bridges in 'life-threatening' rainstorm. Brooklyn-based journalist Margaret Hetherman reports.
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Treading Water pt 1: the start of my training for an open water event
For her first ever open water event, digital journalist and beginner swimmer Abi has signed up to a 4-mile swim…
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Martyn Webster: How swimming has enriched my life
"Swimming has enriched my life immeasurably in so many ways. I feel that I have gone through many chapters and…
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Our favourite swim stories and challenges of 2023
From Nordic odysseys to record-smashing channel crossings, it's been a remarkable year for open water swimmers. Here we share some…
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Heather Palmer: my first swimrun
For her first ever swimrun event, reader Heather Palmer took on the As Keen As Mustard Grafham Water challenge. Here's…
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Swimming to Freedom
In September 2023, Matt Newbury and his friend Queenie Martin attempted to swim from Robben Island to Cape Town, a…
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A Spitsbergen swim
One day, seeking adventure and an icy swim, Jack Bright and his friends decided to take a dip off the…
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The Italian job: a swim across the Strait of Messina
This summer, Matt Newbury enjoyed a 'legendary' swim across the Strait of Messina, between the island of Sicily and the…
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The internal chatter of a cold-water dipper
Canadian reader Glenda Bonne reveals her innermost thoughts before and after a cold-water swim. Can you relate?
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My fastest skins swim of the 3 Lakes Challenge
Helen Hislop shares her story of becoming the fastest skins swimmer to swim Coniston, Ullswater and Windermere consecutively, with a…
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“Swimming has been my lifesaver”
Derek Yach kept swimming while receiving treatment for cancer – he shares his incredible story with us.
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Our oldest mixed relay across the English Channel
David Rock and his swim buddies tell us about their record-breaking (pending ratification) oldest mixed 4-person relay across the Channel,…
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Unsinkable: Alan Corcoran’s swim of the length of Ireland
Alan Corcoran swam the length of Ireland in memory of his father. He spoke to Jonathan Cowie about his experience.
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Leszek Naziemiec’s Yukon Odyssey
After conquering the 1,000km Vistula River in his native Poland, adventure swimmer Leszek Naziemiec turned his attention to the far…