Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Mission impossible? 80 Olympic events in two weeks – all for charity
ACOUPLE have taken on the “terrifying” challenge of completing 80 Olympic events in a two-week time frame.
University of Bristol medical student Charlotte Nichols and her partner Stuart Bates are staging their own Olympics, aiming to complete every event held at Tokyo 2020 during the 17 days it will run for.
They will cram in a huge variety of sporting disciplines – not least a marathon, a 240km cycle and a triathlon – in what they are calling the “Spennylympics”.
The mammoth fundraiser is in memory of Stuart’s brother Spencer, who died almost 10 years ago in 2011 from motor neurone disease.
Charlotte, 21, said: “We wanted to do something to mark it in a positive way, and to raise as much money as we could. No one has ever done it before, as far as we can tell.”
They are raising money for Motor Neurone Disease Association and have set up a website to document their training and raise awareness.
The site explains: “We share a passion for all sports and are by nature hugely competitive people – without the fitness or expertise to back it up!
“We are both extremely excited and terrified in equal measure about what is to come but know that the pain and sacrifice is nothing compared to what those living with motor neurone disease experience on a daily basis.”
The couple live in Oxfordshire but Charlotte is based in Kingsdown in Bristol during her studies. She said the university had been “amazing” in offering them access to all of its sports facilities, as has the University of Bath as Charlotte is currently on placement at Royal United Hospital.
The student doctor has been busy getting up at 5.30am, fitting in one or two exercise sessions like a swim or run, doing a full day’s work at the hospital, potentially another exercise session and then spending her evenings in the library studying.
She said: “There’s so many sports to learn and only three months to do it in. We’ve had help from local clubs who have offered free coaching, like we went to hockey and did some boxing and we’ve got gymnastics at the weekend. A lot of it is about safety
– I had never ridden a horse before but have got to do show jumping and dressage!”
Great Britain’s synchronised swimming duo Kate Shortman and Isabelle Thorpe, who are currently in training for Tokyo, have even agreed to give them some tips in the pool.
More than 50 other Team GB Olympians are also acting as ambassadors in support of the couple’s challenge, including champion boxer Amir Khan.
The full list of sporting events covers a myriad of skills, including gymnastics, breakdancing, surfing, weightlifting and fencing.
The most gruelling event will be the marathon, which they are saving until last due to the recovery that will
be required afterwards. Charlotte said they both struggled to even run two kilometres at the start of the year when their training started, but they are making progress and now have just three months to go until the games begin on July 23.
She said: “We were both so unfit when we decided to do it, and it was made difficult with [the third] lockdown being announced and there being no gyms or pools open.
“We’ve mainly been going out running and cycling and doing home workouts in the garden, but more recently when things started to reopen we’ve been able to get some more specific training in.”
To donate, visit lympics.com/