YOU’D NEVER EXPECT ME TO SWIM THE CHANNEL

Kate Hartwright, 50, is a full-time mum to Eoin, 24, Nico, 12, and Lola, 11, from Appleford, Oxfordshire

I’m not a triathlete or gym bunny. I’m just an ordinary mum who swims, eats cake and dreamed of swimming to France. And for my 50th birthday last year, I did it.

As a child I loved swimming and completed my first mile aged nine. Everyone said: “Ooh, you could be the youngest person to swim the Channel.”

But life took over and, as a single mum, I focused on my kids. Then three years ago I tried open water swimming and loved it.

I swam events like the Henley Mile, then, without telling a soul, last year I applied to swim the Channel.

The pandemic meant I trained in a paddling pool in the garden – tethered to my kids’ climbing frame. My first sea swim was so hard I cried into my goggles.

Swimming the Channel is like preparing for childbirth. Other bookings and changing conditions mean you never know when it will happen. On Sunday September 13, my ‘pilot’ rang with a last-minute cancellation that evening. It was now or never.

Setting off from Dover at 6.30pm, the first nine hours were a dream. The boat’s lights steered me through the dark.

Then a shoulder injury recurred. I was in agony. Afterwards, scans revealed a 5cm tear in my rotator cuff muscles and tendons.

But despite the pain I kept going, singing to keep my mind occupied.

At 12 hours, France appeared and my hopes soared. Then the tide changed and I spent two hours battling not to be pulled backwards.

It was relentless but I refused to give up.

I was seeing double as I staggered up the beach. It took 19 hours and 23 minutes.

For two weeks, my tongue was so swollen

I had to sip tea through a straw. But I was on cloud nine. I was a Channel swimmer!

I’ve truly got the buzz and can’t wait to sign up for another challenge.

If I can do it, anyone can.