ACE ATTEMPT
Oliver’s 24-hours on tennis court for charity
Forget Andy Murray’s compelling four-hour Olympic match to take gold in Rio.
One Maidstone sports coach has aced an epic endurance challenge in the name of charity, playing tennis for a full 24 hours.
Oliver Howarth spent an entire day on the courts, where he teaches in Headcorn, in a bid to raise money for projects in Gambia after visiting the West African country last year.
After making his first serve at 10am on Saturday, the 27-yearold squared up against competitor after competitor in matches that went on through the night and into the following morning.
He played friends, club members and his students during the feat, sustained by just one five-minute break each hour and snacks including fruit, jelly babies, cereal bars and a couple of microwave meals.
Mr Howarth, from Gleneagles Drive in Tovil, has been a member of Headcorn Tennis Club for more than 10 years and has been head coach there for the last six.
He said: “The worst part was between 1am and 5am, but as soon as day began to break it got easier.
“My legs ached from about 8pm but really it was the mental battle that was the hardest.
“I was absolutely exhausted and I couldn’t really move by the end. It was a real effort just to stay standing, but I was so relieved and happy to have done it.”
So far Mr Howarth has raised £ 1,800 through sponsorship, nearly doubling his target.
The money raised will go towards health, education and infrastructure schemes in Gambia, where one-third of the population lives below the international poverty line of 95p a day.
Mr Howarth visited the country last year with a group of students, and will return in November to hand over the money.
He added: “Seeing the way of life first-hand hit me very hard. Even something like access to medicine, because over here if you are ill you can easily pop to a supermarket and pick up some paracetamol.
“Out there it can be a case of life or death. It is nice that I will be able to see exactly what the money is spent on.”