A MEMBER of Melksham Swordfish Swimming Club swapped the safety of the Blue Pool this month to swim the English Channel as part of a school team.
14-year old Eve Ashpole swam the channel with five other teenage swimmers as part of a junior relay team from her school, Lavington School.
The team, one of three from Lavington School, swam the English Channel in 12 hours and 40 minutes. All three teams were raising money for Cure Leukaemia, and so far have raised over £8,200.
The start of their swim coincided with Sarah Thomas’s – the American swimmer who become the first person to swim across the English Channel four times non-stop.
Starting from Folkestone at 11pm on Saturday 14th September Eve and her team swam through the night to reach France at lunchtime the following day.
Eve, who also helps coach the Melksham Swordfish ‘Teach To Swim’ young children on a Saturday morning at the Blue Pool, told Melksham News, “Having trained for over a year it was an incredible experience to achieve this with everyone, we have made friends for life. The training we did was a variety of early morning, night and sea/lake swims, some with the sea temperature at 8 degrees.
“I feel so happy to be part of a team that achieved what we set out to do and one that we will remember for our whole life.”
To support Eve and her teammates, visit: https://uk.gofundme.com/lavington-school-Channel-swim
