Endurance swimmer believed to be fastest female to cross Lake Geneva ‘in shock’

A British endurance swimmer is believed to have broken a world record for the fastest swim across Lake Geneva.

Sam Farrow, 31, from Wigan in Greater Manchester, continuously swam the length of Lake Geneva, situated on the north side of the Alps between France and Switzerland, in 22 hours and 48 minutes, covering a distance of 72.8km.

The record is sometimes referred to as The Signature and is set by the Lake Geneva Swimming Association, an organisation recognised globally by endurance swimmers to adjudicate the swim from Chateau de Chillon to the Bains des Paquis.

Ms Farrow, whose record is yet to be ratified, said she is in “complete shock”.

She told the PA news agency: “I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet. We went out there to try and get the fastest British female record and just in hopes of finishing it. I wanted to see what I could do.

Sam Farrow had to be passed food and drink down a rope by her support team (Sam Farrow/PA)

“I never expected to get the overall fastest female or the time that I got. Complete shock.”

The long distance swimmer, who works as an infant feeding practitioner, swum continuously for more than 22 hours and had to tread water when taking breaks for food and drink.

“You’re not allowed to touch the boat and no-one on the boat is allowed to touch you,” she explained.

“They’ll put carbohydrate powders and little snacks in bottles on a rope, and they throw it out to me and I have to tread water while I eat.”

Ms Farrow endured fatigue, back aches and cramps during her swim, but tried to take in the sights of Lake Geneva to get her through the pain.

“I got to about 55km, my back fatigued, so all the big muscles in my back were just cramping. The last 15km was agony,” she said.

“Every so often, I would have to stop swimming and curl up into a ball to bend my spine.

Sam Farrow swam continuously for 22 hours and 48 minutes (Sam Farrow/PA)

“I would just make myself think you’re in the middle of Geneva at 4am, it’s absolutely beautiful. How lucky are you? Not many people get the chance to do this.

“Every time I had something potentially negative come in, I just tried to switch it.”

Ms Farrow’s longest swim before Lake Geneva was across Loch Ore, Loch Lomond and Loch Ness in Scotland, which each measure 36km, and she started training for her more than 70km swim in December.

“I’ve not done as much training as most of us would do,” she said. “I have two jobs and two children, so it’s definitely a juggling act.

“I think with endurance swimming, I mean, with a lot of endurance sports, it’s mental a lot of it.

“Your training is going to take you so far, but I think a lot of it is whether you can keep your head positive.”

She will find out at the end of September if she has officially broken the world record.