Former Warriors and Scotland centre Alex Grove limbered up for swimming the English Channel in August by swimming a remarkable 1,134 lengths in the pool at the David Lloyd centre at Sixways.
Grove will attempt his Channel crossing on August 1 to raise money for Acorns, today’s Charity Match partner.
Having taken part in a number of open water swims, Grove took to the indoor pool at David Lloyd for a dress rehearsal with the number of lengths equating to the distance he will have to swim when he attempts to cross the Channel from Dover to Cap Gris Nez in France.
It took Grove 11 hours and 50 minutes to complete the 1,134 lengths and he was given support by his former team-mates GJ van Velze, Matt Cox and Marco Mama, Warriors Women players Taz Bricknell, Liz Shermer, Vicky Laflin and Lilly Giles plus Coventry and former Warriors centre Heath Stevens who all joined him for part of the swim. Niall Annett, Warriors’ Acorns Ambassador, and Chris Pennell also supported Grove from the poolside.
Conditions will be very different when Grove crosses the Channel in August when he will not be allowed contact with the pilot boat or another person and he will not be able to leave the water to refuel or take comfort breaks.
“You have got to expect the unexpected. I spoke to someone who did the crossing ten years ago and they were prepared for a 13 to 14 hour crossing but in the end it took them 18 hours,” Grove said.
“They had not factored in the extra five hours which was in pitch blackness. So you have to be flexible and accept that things will not go to plan.
“There’s a lot that is out of your control regardless of how much you have trained for it. If you can deal with being uncomfortable then you have got a good chance of making it.”
You can support Alex Grove’s Channel swim by visiting: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/alex-channel-swim