After the Swiss success, jersey swimmers want to inspire others

A group of Jersey swimmers who swam across Lake Geneva hope their success will inspire others to give open water swimming a try.

Sally Minty-Gravett, Fay de Gruchy, Alice Harvey, Karen Le Cornu, Rachel Sayers and Julia Morris were members of the Jersey Girls team who completed The Ultimate Trophy Swim on Tuesday morning.

It took them 28 hours and 56 minutes to swim about 70 km (43.5 miles), which is twice the width of the English Channel at its narrowest point.

Alice Harvey from the team said she hoped it would show others the benefits of open water swimming.

Conditions were difficult as they began swimming at Chillon Castle in Veytaux on Monday. They completed the challenge on Wednesday morning.

Ms Harvey said she thought “we all underestimated how hard it would be” and “as the swim progressed the winds increased and the currents were against us for most of the swim.”

She added: “I’ve always swum and we’ve done a lot of local swims but this is something bigger and it’s important to get out of your comfort zone to show others how great open water swimming is.”

Ms Harvey also said “warmth and sun are on the list” for the next challenge after the “cold and dark experience” at Lake Geneva.