Success for cross Channel swimmer!

Monday 23 July 2018

An Australian man living in Guernsey has completed a life long personal ambition of swimming the English Channel.

Glen Knudsen set off from Dover on Saturday morning and by Saturday night he had arrived at Calais in France.

While his swimming time hasn't been confirmed yet, it is believed Mr Knudsen completed the challenge in a time shorter than his aim of between 14 and 17 hours.

Mr Knudsen; who moved to Guernsey with his family, is Senior Manager at Marina Health and Leisure and Kings Premier Health Club so being physically fit comes with the day job for him but he had said before his swim that it was a huge challenge for him.

Colleagues and fellow open-water swimming enthusiasts were among his support crew, who said he had only one small mishap while swimming which was when his swimming cap split open a few hours into his swim. He had to swap it for a new one, without touching the boat or any of his support crew but "there was a Formula One-style changeover and all good!"

Other than that his support crew consistently said Mr Knudsen was "in good spirits" and that with no wind and calm seas with a predicted wind speed of just six knots it was a "beautiful day for a swim" with everything looking good from the off.

Swimming the English Channel is one of the most physical challenges in the world and is described as "the Everest of open-water swimming."

Statistics suggest that few people succeed at swimming the Channel - just 30% according to historical figures - and while 1832 different swimmers have done it, 4833 different climbers have successfully summited Everest. 

60-year-old Mr Knudsen said it had been a challenge which had inspired him since he was a child, when he first read about a man who had successfully completed the cross-channel swim. Having met local Channel swimmers after his move to the island, including Paul Mason, Roger Allsopp and the "sea donkey" himself, Adrian Sarchet; Mr Knudsen said it quickly became something he had to do.

To prepare for his swim, Mr Knudsen spent 20 months training and was in confident spirits before travelling to the UK.

Mr Knudsen had been raising money for Hope for Guernsey with his cross-Channel attempt having been inspired by previous Channel swimmer Mr Allsopp who supports the work the organisation does in funding research into cancer treatments.

Donations to Hope for Guernsey can be made here