Reaching 100 days and 1,230 miles into his epic Great British Swim tomorrow (8th September), Ross Edgley is starting the journey back down to the South Coast. He took a break to tell us about whales, sprinting past ferries and plans for the next 600 miles…
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220: So you’ve done 100 days at sea, Ross! How does that feel?
Ross: Well, it’s a weird landmark, 100 days, because there’s still so far to go! I think it’s like a lot of the things we’ve celebrated, for example when we did the South coast we were all like “yay!” because we only had to go up and round, then when we got to John O’Groats we were all like “yay!” again because then we only had to come all the way back down again… So now we’re all going “yay!” at 100 days but the funny thing is there’s still 600 miles to go!!
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I’ve got such an amazing team and I think I speak for the whole team when I say the only thing we’ll celebrate from this point now will be arriving in Margate. By Open Water Swimming Federation rules, if we don’t touch Margate this entire swim will go down as a DNF! That would just be brutal!
220: Tell us about your highs and lows so far!
Ross: My high point was the Bristol Channel. I was swimming for about 10 miles and a giant Minke Whale guided me all the way to Wales! Me and the captain were talking and we realised the whale maybe thought I was an injured seal. It was so sweet. As soon as we got to Wales the whale kind of swum off, as if to say ‘ok, you’re safe now’. That was just amazing.
My low point… Probably the West coast of Scotland between Mull of Kintyre and Toblemory as it was between there I took the most jellyfish stings. That wasn’t pleasant!
220: What are you expecting next?
We’ve just done a huge mull in Scotland which was waaaay bigger than I thought it was! The next big hurdle is Peter’s Head which I’m told will make Dover look quite tame as we have to sprint across it when there’s a gap in the ships. The coastguards have been just amazing. They asked us “how quick is the swimmer, because it’s busy here”, and we said, well, if we have to sprint then we have to sprint! That’s an interesting point actually, because this challenge is a bit like triathlon in that we’ll have a game plan, but that all means nothing if you have to sprint because you’re about to get hit by a giant ferry! I can be like “yes, but I need to regulate my heart rate right now” and they’ll be like “NO. Just GO!” I’m looking forward to that, but only to get it out of the way…
Getting back to British waters is going to be amazing and going round Lincolnshire, which is home, I’m looking forward to… Then of course touching land in Margate!
Stats from Ross’s Swim So Far…
· 54 jellyfish stings
· One minke whale in the Bristol Channel
· One seven-metre basking shark sighting off the coast of Scotland
· Twelve dolphins spotted in the South Coast
· One seal spotted off the coast of Devon
· 1,230 miles covered
· 1,600,000 strokes completed
· 2,039 hours in the water
· 442 bananas
· 30.99 nautical miles (the highest distance covered in a single day)
· Three rolls of gaffer tape used to fix broken skin
· 8.7 knots top speed
· 1,250,000 calories burned
· Two kilograms of Vaseline for chaffing
· One freshly grown beard to try prevent more jellyfish stings!
Ross has broken a number of records since the Great British Swim began. By the end of June Ross had became the first ever person to swim the length of the English Channel. In mid-August he surpassed the world record for the Longest Staged Sea Swim of 73 days, set by Benoît Lecomte who swam across the Atlantic Ocean in 1998. Finally, last week he became the first ever Britain to swim the 900 mile journey from Lands’ End to John O’Groats in a record breaking 62 days.
Not one to shy away from a challenge, Ross has previously rope climbed the equivalent height (8,848m) of Mount Everest inside 24 hours, completed a triathlon with a tree strapped to his back, and completed a marathon whilst dragging a Mini Cooper!
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Follow Ross’s Great British Swim journey via live tracker at RedBull.co.uk/GreatBritishSwim and tune in to weekly vlogs at youtube.com/redbull
The top 100 names on Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes – topped by boxer Floyd Mayweather – banked a cumulative £3.8billion over the past 12 months. You cannot filter by ‘gender’, but even if you could, there’d be no need. There’s not a women on it. For the first time since it launched six years ago, the latest list doesn’t include a single female.
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The Sunday Times Rich List is also spliced to provide a wealthiest sportsmen category, Rory McIlroy and Andy Murray top that one. But – with the clue in the name – the women again fail to register.
If it proves anything, it’s that true gender equality with our sports stars is still generations away. It also brings into stark contrast how triathlon, in its own niche sports way, and with an insistence on equal prize money and profile from inception, has an enviable track record (albeit with some of the zeroes scratched off).
To illustrate, last year’s top two prize money earners were the ITU world champion Flora Duffy ($295k) and the Ironman world champion Daniela Ryf ($240k), according to the list compiled by race organisers Challenge. Of the top 100 triathletes, 49 were women.
It works because it’s not forced. The action, not gender, has always shaped the narrative, whether it was Julie Moss’s crawl in Hawaii in 1982 or the Iron War between Dave Scott and Mark Allen in 1989. The unexpected dominance of Chrissie Wellington from 2007 to 2011 or the emergence of a pair of Yorkshire brothers ahead of
the London Olympics.
It continues today. In this year’s ITU World Triathlon Series, the women’s race took focus in Bermuda because of home favourite Duffy. On to Leeds and the poster boys were naturally the Brownlees.
As a young sport, triathlon does have the advantage of not battling a traditional male-dominated legacy, but it still took the pluck and vision of the ITU’s founding president, the late Les McDonald – whose grandmother was a suffragette – to put the foundations in place, and there’s always work to do.
More men (61%) than women (39%) participate in the UK, according to the Triathlon Industry Association, so sponsors need to see both the bigger picture – and opportunity – when deciding on
their marketing budgets.
So too do organisers when it comes to professionals, which partly explains the opprobrium when the World Triathlon Corporation refuses to entertain an even number of men and women pros for the Ironman World Championship, or Super League Triathlon receives a backlash for not having a women’s race in its trial run.
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But these anomalies stick out precisely because they’re not the norm, and it’s a proud tradition that’ll be enhanced further when the mixed relay makes its bow in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. And perhaps, by then, the women
might even be competing on the anchor leg.
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When you’re given the chance to meet and swim with a bronze-medalist, you’d be daft to turn it down. Jack Cummings isn’t your average swimmer, though. After losing both his legs above the knee while working as a Bomb Disposal Officer in Afghanistan, swimming gave him a focus for his physical rehab, while the Invictus Games became a motivational force as his skills improved.
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So what is it like to learn to swim again – and to take that bronze medal? We met Jack at the Victory Swim, where he was swimming in open water for the first time and taking on a 1500m distance. The event was organised by the Felix Fund, a charity which supports the UK’s bomb disposal experts and the wider EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) community and their families. We also grabbed some time with Captain James Wadsworth, bomb disposal expert and founder of the Victory Swim, to find out more about how triathletes can get involved in the fund’s charity challenges.
220: Were you always a keen swimmer?
Jack Cummings: Well, I got my 25m badge when I was a kid! My mum and dad took me to the pool growing up and I like to think I took to the water pretty well as a kid, but not so much as a teenager! Sport for me was more about keeping fit. I was a keen footballer and used to play most sports but didn’t excel in any particular. I did everything from swimming, to cricket to football.
When I joined the army we had to do our military swim test which was to jump off the 5m board in full rig and then swim to the end and back again – not too far. It was more when I got injured and taken to Headley Court [the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre] that I went back to the pool. Obviously I couldn’t run any more, so it was really good exercise for me to start swimming and burn off some calories.
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Headley Court was great because they offered me a whole range of disabled sports from swimming to wheelchair basketball. I also learned to handbike and I try to go out at least three or four times a week – weather permitting in England!
220: How important was swimming in your recovery?
Jack: It’s been a huge part of my rehab. Otherwise I’d have been just sat on the sofa watching Jeremy Kyle or something – it’s got me out and I’ve lost a load of weight. I was in a coma for a month so I lost everything in terms of muscle. I went from an able-bodied lad to a skeleton basically – and the doctors and nurses panicked and kept telling me I needed to eat, so I put on a load of weight!
We had the hydropool at Headley Court which was a small pool where I started. It was about finding that balance point again first because obviously I lost both legs above the knee, but for some reason I float better now! Yeah, it was all about starting from scratch though.
It took a while to get into it and I had to build up the distance starting with a couple of lengths at first – but by the time I left Headley I was up to a mile, which I was really happy with.
220 Triathlon’s Editor Helen Webster chats to Jack Cummings about ahead of this year’s Victory Swim
220: How did you get involved in the Invictus Games?
Jack: The letter from Invictus came and I spoke to my wife Sarah and she said ‘go for it!’. I went for swimming and archery. I’m not really an archer though, more a swimmer! I did 50m free and 50m breaststroke and got bronze in the breaststroke.
The Invictus Games gave me an aim. I never gave up, it’s just I didn’t have anything to aim for and Invictus gave me the motivation to go for something. It was great watching the guys from previous years and I thought well if they can do it, then I can do it too! They inspired me and I hope I can do the same for others.
I swim in the local pool with the old girls in the morning and they always say hello and cheer me on. I feel like I’m able-bodied again because I’m zooming past everyone. It’s great, it keeps me focussed. I’m up at 5:30am every day, do an hour in the gym from 6am and then I’m in the pool from 7am.
The lake is a brand new environment for me! I’m doing 1500m today… Go big or go home! I’ll switch between front crawl and breaststroke.
220: What next? Have you been tempted to pursue Paratriathlon?
Jack: I don’t think so! I did the Royal Marines Rehab Tri with Joe Townsend and he blew me out of the water! It was great to see him go from where he was to being an elite – that takes a different type of dedication. Joe is absolutely amazing. He’s the marine machine!
I’m on the reserve list for the next Invictus Games. Hopefully I’ll get called up. I wouldn’t rule out doing another triathlon too, maybe a half-Ironman, something like that. Like I said, I do the handbike already so I’ve got two out of three – and I’m used to pushing a wheelchair so that’s doable as the third!
Jack Cummings exists the water after the 1500m Victory Swim. Image: Jo’s Photos https://www.facebook.com/memoriesforsharing/posts/
220: How has the Felix Fund helped you?
Jack: The Felix Fund is a bomb disposal charity. I was part of a search team, so searching for bombs and IEDs. If we found one, then they’d come and snip the wire and defuse the bomb. The Felix Fund have done loads to support me and my wife – we’ve been to events such as carol services and they’ve supported us financially too, by buying a load of adapted furniture for our house, so they’ve looked after us that way as well. They’re not a huge charity, but they’re always in touch and looking after us.
As well as last week’s Victory Swim, the Felix Fund host a series of sporting challenges triathletes can get involved in, spearheaded by ammunition technician Captain James Wadsworth who counts the Rat Race series, Ironmans, the Marathon de Sables, Land’s End to John O’Groats on a bike and other endurance events amongst his fundraising achievements.
220’s Editor at the Victory Swim with Captain James Wadsworth, who next year will attempt the Channel Swim amongst other endurance challenges to raise funds and awareness for the Felix Fund.
We asked Captain Wadsworth what’s next: “I’m building up to 2019 at the moment. Between the 4-8th June we are doing the Castle Cycle Ride from Edinburgh, via Windsor to Cardiff. Following that I’m doing the Frankfurt Ironman, then I’ve got a small break before the Channel Swim attempt from 13-19th September, which is daunting right now! After that we’ve got a running event on 12th October which is open to anyone of any ability from 5km to 100km. Halfway through September (date TBC) will be our Felix Festival, where we pitch a big tent in the middle of nowhere and you can come along and enjoy a beer and some good food and music!
“Felix Fund supports the IED community and I’ve worked within this area for my whole career. Around the time of Northern Ireland but also of Iraq and Afghanistan I was operating in those countries and I lost friends who were killed in those operations and I had friends and colleagues that were injured. We now have people who are still suffering with mental and physical injuries and while I am still (relatively!) able-bodied I want to raise money and awareness so I do as many events as I can and encourage others to join me.”
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Find out more about the Felix Fund here and get involved with the sporting challenge events organised by Captain James Wadsworth here.
The double Ironman World Champion and newly-crowned Ironman 70.3 World Champ, Jan Frodeno, has announced on Instagram that he has pulled out of Kona due to a stress fracture.
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Certainly not how I hoped this season would end. A stress fracture in my hip (SI joint)- see pic 2 for those interested. The highs and lows of sport have never been so close for me- winning a world title last week and being sidelined for the season the next. At least the @_promovement team kept the spirits going;) (last pic). Just a reminder to all of us that success never comes in a straight line… currently listening to Daft Punk- One More Time, so see you all next year
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Registrations for the legendary triathlon and festival weekend, the Wildflower Experience 2019, are open now. The event returned in 2018 after the drought in Northern California ended, and the organisers hope the race will reach its original peak numbers in 2019.
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The Wildflower Experience weekend boasts a full line-up of triathlon race distances, several run events, a music festival, stand up paddle board events, and a three-day Outdoor Yoga Experience on May 3-5, 2019 at Lake San Antonio in Monterey County, California.
Demand for the event is expected to be high and registration for all events is open at www.wildflowerexperience.com. Early bird rates are applicable until the 9th of October. The website contains more information about the weekend of events and camping and nearby lodging. New events will also be announced in the coming months.
In addition to the marquee long course race (1.9km swim/90km bike/21.1km run), the three-day endurance triathlon festival also includes Olympic Distance, On-Road Sprint and Off-Road Sprint triathlons, a Collegiate Championship, 5K/10K run, 10 mile trail run, SUP race and a variety of yoga classes and workshops. Additionally, participants can experience live bands, a beer garden, race clinics, exhibitor booths and outdoor activities throughout the weekend.
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Wildflower started as a music festival in the early 1980’s before growing into an annual tri event, attracting thousands of participants and spectators. Over the years, the event has created a passionate and dedicated following amongst triathlon enthusiasts, many of whom flock to the California Central Coast each year to soak in the intimate setting. The unique atmosphere at Lake San Antonio led eight-time Ironman world champ Paula Newby-Fraser, a five-time winner of Wildflower, to dub the event as the “Woodstock of Triathlon.”
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A champion moment!
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A night of perfection on the Gold Coast
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Alistair Brownlee has plenty of history with the Chinese capital of Beijing. He made his breakout elite performance in the city at the 2008 Olympics, where the 20-year-old Yorkshireman bravely took the race to the established field before finishing in 12th as the highest Brit.
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He also secured the 2011 ITU World Triathlon Series with a Grand Final victory in Beijing, before storming to a Beijing International Triathlon victory here in 2016.
We caught up with the two-time Olympic champ ahead of this weekend’s Beijing International Triathlon to discuss his Chinese tri memories, his ‘terrible’ year of 2018 and that Ironman 70.3 Worlds showdown with Jan Frodeno…
220: You and Beijing have created some tri moments.
Alistair: It takes me back to the 2008 Olympics being here in Beijing as that was a really special time for me. Going to your first Olympics is really exciting, but it feels like a long time ago now.
It’s surprised me how many of the age-group field here at the Beijing International Triathlon are domestic triathletes. I even met an athlete earlier who’d come from Taiwan to see you race.
In 2008, triathlon wasn’t on the radar in China at all so to have 2,000 people racing here tomorrow is testament to the sport. And it’s amazing that some people from the region, some of whom don’t speak any English, know who I am now.
The Beijing International offers a rare non-drafting Olympic-distance bike course. Is that a draw of racing here?
There used to be a lot of non-drafting Olympic races, back in the Des Moines days, and it’s enjoyable to be able to mix up different kinds of racing. I’ve spent the last couple of seasons not being committed to the World Tri Series and being flexible to mix up my racing.
That was a stunning race in South Africa at the Ironman 70.3 Worlds (where Ali came second behind Jan Frodeno in early September). How do you look back on that experience?
I was really pleased with that race as I’ve had a terrible year with all different kinds of things, but I threw everything at it in the weeks before and on the day I couldn’t have hoped for a better performance. Obviously I wasn’t immensely happy with the result, but knowing there’s nothing more you can do on the day is all you can do. It’s taken me a long time to recover from that race.
Can you elaborate on what’s been tough this season?
I had an operation on my hip this time last year and that worked well, but it’s tough to return and get your body going again after that much time out. That was mentally tough to have one thing after another happening when all you want to do is go out and train as hard as you can.
You have been training and racing hard for a long time now…
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I definitely think there’s a degree of wear and tear. I remember saying in interviews about 10 years ago that ‘I’d prefer to be the best I could ever be and train as hard as I can, even if it shortens my career’. When you say that as a rather confident 20-year-old, you never think it’ll actually shorten your career but I have some perspective on that now.
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From toils at the Commonwealth Games to tears in Leeds, it’s largely been a season to forget for Jonny Brownlee in 2018.
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But the affable Brownlee has been on reliably-good form here at the Beijing International Triathlon in China, mixing with the locals at tourist sites around the city and with the healthy pro contingent vying for some of the healthy prize purse.
We’ve been lucky enough to spend time with Jonny and the pro field in Beijing ahead of our races in the Chinese capital on Sunday 23 September, where the younger Brownlee will join Alistair in a non-drafting challenge on the bike course in a strong pro field of 30 and 220 will be bringing up the rear as part of the 2,000-strong age-group field.
220: So you’re on the Scott Plasma tri bike tomorrow.
Jonny: I last raced on a tri bike back at Abu Dhabi International in 2014, and I’ve put it in the cupboard since then. I since got a new bike sponsor in Scott Bikes and I got it out before the Gold Coast race. I’ve only ridden it eight or nine times as I’ve been concentrating on the World Tri Series.
But here we are, and I’m feeling a lot more comfortable on it than I thought I would. The first time on it I felt really good and I’ve enjoyed riding it. I tell myself that it’s pedalling, strength and power and, if you can do that on a road bike you can do that one a TT bike. But I haven’t made it easy on myself in this field, with one of the strongest non-drafting fields I’ve seen in a long time.
We’ve done a tour of the 40km course and it’s going to be a technical one out there.
I’d actually much prefer a technical, up and down course that a pure flat and straight one. That’s where I’ll struggle against the strong TT guys like [American non-drafting specialist] Cameron Dye as they can put down their power.
How much have you done in terms of TT bike positioning and wind tunnel analysis?
Absolutely nothing. My focus was the Grand Final, and that didn’t go as planned, but when I take non-drafting racing more seriously than that’s something I certainly do with the help of Scott bikes. But so far I did it all myself and with the help of [fellow Brit pro] Mark Buckingham. I was in my garage and Bucko came and took some videos of me.
From the outside it seems to have been a tough season for you, starting with missing the top five at the Commonwealth Games. How do you assess it?
It’s been the worst season of my career. I made a lot of mistakes and have had some bad luck along the way. I’m not used to getting ready for a race as early as the Commonwealth Games in April. I’ve a tried and tested way of peaking for August, so this year was different for me. I panicked and tried to train too hard before April and then got a stress response in my femur and that meant six weeks off from running.
And then there was your emotional DNF in Leeds in June.
I went home and set the reset button for Leeds and was feeling really good before that, until I got sick from a stomach bug before the race. Going into the race I didn’t feel quite right, but athletes are the best people in the world at lying to themselves. I quickly realised I wasn’t fine in the race and was on an IV drip as soon as it finished. I’m hoping to get all my bad luck out of the way in 2018.
What’s left for you in 2018?
Positively I want to rescue my season here in Beijing and my remaining races at the Super League Triathlon races in Jersey and hopefully Malta and Mallorca. The Super League events are great fun and a different challenge.
Is it hard to stay motivated going back to the ITU World Tri Series when you’ve had races such as Beijing and the Super League?
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I’ve been to the same races and places for many years now with the ITU WTS. I still enjoy it and it’s still real top-end racing and hugely competitive. My main goal over the next couple of years is to go to Tokyo and get an Olympic medal. And I have to do the ITU racing to achieve that. After that I’ll be ready for a change.
Meaning you’ll follow Alistair into Ironman 70.3?
Yes. I’ve enjoyed being out here in Beijing and the relaxed side of it; the smaller field and everyone being out here together. Ask me tomorrow after the race and I might hate it, but I’ll definitely be ready for a change after 2020 to the longer stuff.
As for Tokyo, has the heat preparation started already?
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I’ve turned my conservatory into a head chamber, so heaters in there and wall paper strippers. We’re looking at pre-race camps to go out to before the race. But I believe with the British Triathlon system we’ve got that I’ll go out there as prepared as I can be.