Hector Pardoe: This time it’s personal

Alice Dearing sat down with the King of the Lakes and two times Olympian, Hector Pardoe, to ask how it felt to swim the three largest lakes in each of the UK’s home nations back-to-back in under 24 hours and to learn about his ambition to take on one iconic swim challenge per year

AD: I’ve had the pleasure of knowing you for a while and watching you mature through the sport, can you take us back to the beginning?

HP: I started swimming when I was seven years old through the classic learn to swim route and carried it on… not really an interesting start. I started open water when I was 12, coached by Alan Bircher who was an open water swimmer himself. On Tuesday afternoons we could go to the local open water venue and do a few laps and it was more interesting. I’ve had a long swimming journey so far.

AD: And long may it continue. So… The Three Lakes, tell us about the inspiration and organisation.

HP: It was entirely inspired by the ‘Three Peaks’ challenge. Also, the journey of the challenge down through Great Britian was a nice way to pay homage to the country and finishing in Wales as a tribute to my Welsh heritage. It took about eight months of planning and hundreds of hours of mine and my manager’s time. The safety organisation was challenging as I needed different crews on every lake because I wanted to complete it within 24 hours, meaning that each lake needed a dedicated crew to make it as smooth as possible, waiting on standby so we could go as soon as I got there. Pilots, insurance, launch spot, exit points, all for three different lakes on one day… it was a lot.

AD: So worthwhile… did you enjoy it? And what was most memorable?

HP: Yeah, after Paris 2024 it was fun to shift to. Something unconventional and different… it was fun. I just wish I had a bit more time to get the word out some more.

Ah, what was most memorable… You probably remember from the 2018 European Championships in Loch Lomond at the starting point of those champs there is a large boat, which is sat out of the water; anyway, I was swimming the distance, past these islands in the middle of the loch. The sun was rising and, after a few hours of swimming in the dark, I could finally see what was around me: hundreds of pike and trout, which dispersed as I swam over, and on islands there were people who had been camping there for the night and who cheered me on as I went past. But this boat, I soon spotted it and remembered it from 2018, for two hours I was staring it down and sighting it for the end of the loch. Another great moment is when I turned on my back and ate a mars bar whist staring at the stars, silence besides the engine of the boat and the lapping of the water.

AD: I love the call back to Glasgow 2018… and it’s a great point to bring in the differentiation between the swim challenges you do and competing at two Olympic Games.

HP: Definitely, the Olympic games is so cool and obviously the pinnacle of sport – it is peak physiology. The swim challenges bring less pressure on me in terms of pacing and physical strain; it’s more about me swimming against the clock. When I compete for GB there is the pressure of racing the best in the world, tactics, drafting – a lot more goes into it to deliver the best result. Looking back on it I’m incredibly proud of the Three Lakes, swimming 55km in a day through the cold and dark, hours in the car. I want to do more challenges like this in the future; I am so proud. It is terrible when I’m doing it, though; it’s so hard it hurts but the feeling of pride and accomplishment is worth it.

AD: What was the support of the community like?

HP: It’s been really special realising there is a community here to support and uplift. I put on Facebook some rough times of when I would be finishing each leg and at the end of Windermere there were like, 200 people cheering me on. Sadly, I didn’t have time to speak to them as I needed to get moving to Bala.

AD: What is next?

HP: I’m trying not to put too much pressure on it but I want to have an iconic swim each year. This year I have Colin Hill helping me organise a swim of Lake Como. But looking further, I am aiming to do the world’s longest swim in 2029, which will help my mindset post LA 2028; it’s useful to have another thing to put my energy to. Regarding the Games, LA could be my last one and I know I can do this [get a medal], so let’s give it absolutely everything. And the support I’m getting is great. Also doing some masterclasses, I have three in June with Sharon [Van Rouwendaal, 2x Olympic champion].