Channel challenge is in Susan’s name
Swimmer completing feat for KeepTheBeat
A SWIMMER from Hinckley embarked on a journey across the English Channel yesterday morning in memory of his friend who died doing the challenge in 2013.
Jai Evans, 39, set off on the 21 mile journey from Dover at 6.15am on Tuesday raising money for Burbage-based charity KeepTheBeat.
His friend Susan Taylor, from Barwell, suffered an acute cardiorespiratory collapse just a mile from the French coast on July 14 2013. Jai was a member of her support crew that day.
Helen Jones, Jai’s girlfriend, was keeping up-todate with his progress from home, with updates being provided by his crew over social media.
She said: “They’ve been doing live videos on Facebook and we’ve been able to message them.
“He’s been working and training full time. He coaches six days a week and has been doing swims between six and nine hours.
“I think I was more nervous than he was, he’s quite a laid back person and his crew are very well prepared. He’s been through a very difficult time losing Susan, and with another channel swimmer losing their life recently, but he was excited to go.
“He used to work with Susan as a lifeguard when he was young. They sort of lost touch and she trained to be an accountant whilst he was a swimming coach. They got back in touch when she started swimming again.
“He’s set to come straight back after the swim though, as he’s doing a nine mile swim of Lake Windemere on Sunday!”
The challenge has been two years in the making for Jai, a swimming coach for more than 20 years with his company Swim Station.
He has completed training events such as a sponsored 10k swim at Hinckley Leisure Centre as well as two swims of Lake Windermere, including a twolength trip that took 11 hours.
In the run-up to the challenge, Jai said: “This will be my longest ever swim and will be a very big challenge both physically and mentally.
“I am funding the swim myself so all of the money donated will go directly to KeepTheBeat, which is a fantastic charity.
“I would love to raise as much as possible to help make a difference to the lives of families affected by congenital heart defects.”
So far Jai has raised more than £4,000, far sur- passing his original target of £1,000.
Adam Tansey, founder of KeepTheBeat, said: “I am so honoured that Jai has chosen to support KeepTheBeat. Without people like him, our charity wouldn’t be able to carry on doing the amazing things it does.
“We will be cheering him on every stroke of the way.”
Susan was fundraising for Rainbows Hospice and Diabetes UK, and her legacy lives on in a memorial bench overlooking the sea at Varne Ridge Channel Swim Park between Folkestone and Dover, where the 34-year-old stayed before setting off on what became a fatal fundraising effort.
One of the lines on the bench reads: “Achieve your goal/And bring me back a French pebble” - something which Jai hopes he can do.
He said: “I was with Susan during her swim, cheering her on and swimming with her for some of the time, and I saw how hard she trained for it.
“Once she knew she would be doing the swim she asked me to be one of her crew and I jumped at the chance to see her chase her dream.
“Losing her was terrible for everyone, especially her family, so now I am going to attempt the swim for her and my main aim is to get to the beach in France and pick up a pebble for Susan.”
He is joined by a crew of Tim Lewington, Stuart Ritchie, Ryan Cooper and Wes Norton.
The challenge is expected to take around 20 hours, putting his projected finish time in the early hours of this morning.
To support Jai, you can donate by visiting www. justgiving.com/fundraising/jai-evans1