Last weekend 20 of Aspire’s hardiest swimmers took to the waters of Llyn Gwnant at the foot of Mount Snowdon to take part in the inaugural Snowdonia Swim Challenge. Braving water temperatures of below 16 degrees they swam 3 miles around the lake raising in excess of £10,000 for Aspire.
Despite the best efforts of the Welsh weather everyone had a fantastic weekend of swimming and the fans were out in force offering much needed support to all those taking part in the challenge. One of the great things about the weekend was the family atmosphere. Almost everyone came along with friends and relatives and many people even brought their dogs – who seemed very adept at warming up swimmers afterwards!
The challenge was made up of two swims – either a 1.5 mile or 3 mile swim around the lake in the morning followed by a relay team swimming event in the afternoon.
Kim Elliott commented at the start of the event; ‘we’re all very nervous but there’s a fantastic atmosphere and we’re really excited’. She also made further comments on the weather but they weren’t suitable for print! The swimmers took between 90 minutes and 3 hours to complete the main swim and it was an amazing achievement for everyone who took part. As Helen (the fastest female swimmer) put it; ‘the real challenge was dealing with the cold, as well as swimming three miles all in one go’.
One of the most remarkable achievements was that of Stephen Lightbown who has been training for this event all year. Stephen is paralysed from the waist down and not only completed the course without the use of his legs but also came first in the men’s sprint category. Not to be outdone, Melissa (a regular user of the Aspire National Training Centre) completed a mile of the course with the use of only one arm. It was an amazing achievement and quite an emotional moment watching her being greeted by her son and black Labrador as she completed her challenge.
The swim was organised and marshalled by Swim Trek who have been supporting Aspire in many different ways over the last couple of years and it was such a relief to know that all of the swimmers were in such safe hands.
We’re already looking forward to next year’s event and are hoping to have even more swimmers taking part. If you’re interested in signing up please email rosie.cotton@aspire.org.uk or give Rosie a call on 0208 420 6706.
At the end of the event the guys from Swim Trek laid on a much needed feast and there was a prize giving ceremony for the fastest swimmers as well as some other less traditional awards!
A huge congratulations and thank you to everyone who took part.