UNITED KINGDOM: Endurance swimmer Lewis Gordon Pugh swims into record books for the environment

British polar explorer and endurance swimmer, Lewis Gordon Pugh, swam into the history books on Sunday (August 6), becoming the first person to swim the entire length of the River Thames from its source near the Welsh border all the way to the North Sea, covering a total distance of 203 miles (327km). From his first day in the water Pugh swam 12 miles a day, or the equivalent of 700 lengths of an average swimming pool, in two-hour stints. The finish finally came after 21 days of swimming when he reached the newly opened Southend-on-sea pier. Pugh did the marathon swim to raise awareness about global climate change. On route he successfully delivered his message on the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions in the UK to British Prime Minister Tony Blair. "I'm very, very excited today, I've been thinking about swimming into Westminster for some 18 days and very, very excited to get out and then to go and meet Tony Blair to hand him a letter asking him to put climate change at the very top of his agenda," said Pugh 3 days from . "I can't think of anything, other than possibly global terrorism, which he should be thinking more about at this time." Pugh, a 36 year old maritime lawyer, became the first person to complete a long distance swim in all five oceans in January 2006. On that occasion he swam in the Pacific Ocean from Manly Beach to the Sydney Opera House in Australia. He had previously completed long-distance swims in the Atlantic when he crossed the English Channel, the Arctic Ocean when he went around North Cape, the Southern Ocean by swimming across to Deception Island off Antarctica, and the Indian Ocean across Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa. In a career spanning 20 years Lewis pushed him self to the limit, braving dangers of sharks and polar bears and taking on high winds and sea currents. But he said the Thames has been his biggest challenge yet. "I never though it would be this hard but it really really was hard. I've swum in all oceans of the world and the Arctic and the Antarctic but certainly the Thames was the hardest I've ever done," he said. Pugh's ability to withstand cold and raise his body temperature in anticipation of a swim has intrigued many top sports scientists and earned him the nickname of 'The Polar Bear'. During the arduous journey, he slept on a support barge and was been vaccinated against any possible disease. ENDS.

ITN Source | August 11, 2006

Tags:. .southern. .self. .excited. .entire. .pushed