Western Morning News (Saturday)
Little time to train – but Jason ready for epic swim
ATEACHER is set to swim the English Channel in the next few days after taking on the challenge with just months to train.
Jason Quiterio, 36, had expected to wait four or five years for his opportunity to swim the 21-miles from England to France. But with other swimmers dropping out during the Covid-19 pandemic Jason was given the opportunity to make the crossing this summer.
The computer science teacher and swimming coach has seized the opportunity – despite not being able to train indoors while swimming pools were out of use earlier this year during lockdown.
Since then he has braved the cold sea for hours on end while also being thrown the lifeline of a private pool thanks to local business Heat Form.
Jason, from Saltash, who teaches computer science at Plymouth’s St Boniface College, said: “When they offered a window this August it seemed the perfect opportunity as it would be during the school holidays. But I had been expecting to wait until 2024 and have a lot more time for my training. It is too cold to swim for more an hour in the sea during the winter so I was blessed to have use of the pool before being able to go for longer sea swims once it warmed up a bit.”
The Caradon Swimming Club coach and head coach of the Cornish Swim Team, who also runs his own Ace Swimming school from Royal William Yard, has gradually increased his hours in the sea, building up to the six-hours required for him to qualify to make the crossing with the Channel Swimming and Pilot Federation.
Now he is awaiting a call from the pilot who will accompany him throughout the 21-mile crossing which Jason expects to take around 12 hours depending on the conditions.
Jason, a married father-of-one, explained: “It is 21 miles as the crow flies but you cannot swim in a straight line and you are not going with the tide.
“Because of the tidal flows you take a curved swim and it is not certain exactly where you will finish in France.”
Jason is hoping to raise money for Cornwall Air Ambulance and has set up a fundraising page at https://www. justgiving.com/fundraising/jason-quiterio-channelswim2021.