News
Louis Staples
Nov 04, 2018
33 year-old Ross Edgley has become the first person to swim around Britain.
Edgley crossed the finish line off the coast of Margate, Kent, after swimming a colossal 1,780 miles. The Lincolnshire native was joined by 400 swimmers for the final mile before he arrived at the finish in Margate. He left the same spot on June 1 and has not set foot on land since.
He has been swimming up to 12 hours a day. To sustain his herculean effort, Ross ate between 10,000 and 15,000 calories each day – including an impressive tally of over 500 bananas.
During the swim, he braved tides and currents in cold water, storms and jellyfish. The swim took the adventure-athlete 157 days to complete, circumnavigating the coastlines of England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.
In order to complete his mammoth challenge, Ross completed up to 40,000 strokes per day, swimming in six hour stints, day and night, whilst taking the six hours in between to rest and recover aboard the sailing boat Hecate. Veteran sea captain Matt Knight captained the boat, plotting the safest and most efficient route in order to maximise Ross’s chances of completion.
Following the swim, Ross posted photographs of his feet to Instagram to show the brutal effects of being at sea for so long.
If you're about to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner, you might want to look away.
More: This man went for an innocent swim, and then something horrible happened
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