Readers' Swims
Immerse yourself in fellow swimmers' personal narratives, sharing their swimming stories and memorable experiences.
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Plymouth swimmers making waves
Close encounters with seals, dolphins and the Royal Navy: Jason Mann shares the story of an adventurous band of Plymouth…
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Minreet Kaur: My first open water mile at Swim Serpentine
Minreet Kaur reports back from her first open water mile at Swim Serpentine – a real milestone that has given…
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Lorraine Candy’s Scilly Swim Challenge
'Postcards From Midlife' co-host Lorraine Candy joined her tribe of middle-aged women to take on the epic 15km Scilly Swim…
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A swim under the midnight sun
Matt Newbury travelled to Lapland with his husband Aaron and friend Queenie to take part in a truly unique swim…
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A Channel swimmer photostory
“Physical preparation for this is key, but mental preparation is paramount”. On 4 September, 16-year-old Prisha Tapre became a Channel…
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Plunging with pride
As Pride Swim returns for its second year and expands to multiple venues across the UK, reader Jem Collins heads…
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“Just get it done”: Barry Murphy attempts his Third Triple Crown in the open water
Ahead of his swim across the Catalina Channel on 12 September, Irishman Barry Murphy tells Isaac Dubey about the incredible…
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Treading water pt4: the final countdown to Abi’s Arun swim!
It's just under two weeks until Abi's 4-mile swim in the River Arun. Here's how her beginner swim training has…
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Marathon swimming or video games?
18-year-old Tyler Sutton chose marathon swimming over video games during the pandemic and ended up swimming the English Channel
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Swimming from Red Sands Forts to the Kent Coast
Whitstable swimmer Dan Brown navigates treacherous currents to become the first person to swim from the Red Sands Forts
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Jonty Warneken completes first swim around Jersey by an amputee
He may be missing one leg but that doesn't stop him from tackling the toughest marathon swims, says Kate Steels
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Islas Desertas and back again: a 60km swim through the Atlantic Ocean
We spoke with Mayra Santos shortly after she completed an epic marathon swim from Madeira to Islas Desertas and back…
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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…
