North and South
A highlight of the British Long Distance Swimming Association’s calendar is the Champion of Champions. The challenge is for swimmers to complete a series of swims totalling 9 miles (broken down to 5 miles, 3 miles and 1 mile). The original Champion of Champions is held in Dover and on 17 June, beautiful conditions greeted the swimmers for their 5km, 3km and 1km swims. (The traditional 5-mile, 3-mile and 1-mile course had to be sortened due to pile driving in Dover Marina.) Men’s winners were: James Leitch; Ollie Wilkinson; and Ben Silver. Women’s winners were: Hannah Monaghan; Elizabeth Denyer; Melanie Holland.
This year was also the inaugural Champion of Champions of the North, held at Ellerton Lake on 24 June. Swimmers swam the full 9-mile course. Men’s winners were: James Leitch, Andrew Wells, Graham Watson and the women’s winners: Caroline Duffy; Melanie Holland; and Liane Llewellyn. The day also featured swims by a number of talented younger swimmers – Ellie Jane Knight was the youngest swimmer of the day (aged 15) and completed the full course breaststroke.