AFTER two years of intensive training, a Hampton Pools swimming coach has become the first British woman to successfully swim the 16 mile Cook Strait in New Zealand.
Emily Morris, 27, of Hampton, conquered the notorious stretch of water, but it was far from plain sailing, and bad weather meant her scheduled swim was postponed. She said: "The training was obviously very challenging but having prepared myself for the 23rd February I was ready and it was very difficult, mentally, to lose my slot and potentially my chance at setting a new world record."
After two weeks of waiting and crossing her fingers, the weather settled down on March 9, and she was finally able to take to the water. The conditions were still tough, as unpredicted high winds of up to 17 knots blew up and caused the water to be choppy.
But Emily persevered and made it across in nine hours and 58 minutes.
She said: "It was an amazing feeling of exhilaration. It still hasn't quite sunk in. The support that I received on the day from my Dad and boyfriend on the boat was superb, as were all the supportive text messages and e-mails. And whilst I saw a jelly fish, I didn't get stung once!"
Emily's father Peter joined her on the support boat that sailed alongside her. He said: "Emily is a very determined person, and sets herself very extreme ambitions, most of which she achieves. Her mum Jackie and I always knew that, given the right weather and tide conditions, Emily would conquer this extreme challenge and now she has we are so proud of her. We just wonder what she will do next!"
Although a shorter distance than the English Channel, which she swam three-and-a-half-years ago, the Cook Strait was a much bigger challenge as it is considered one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world. Just 64 people have successfully managed it. She explained: "I decided on this challenge as I know I will never break any speed records – I have been told that I swim for style not speed, and so I saw the chance of being the first British female to do it as a great way to go down in history."
The Hampton Open Air Pools duty manager and swimming coach also hopes her achievement will raise money to buy a disabled chair hoist for YMCA London South West, which runs the pool. The hoist will cost about £5,000 and her fund raising efforts have so far raised £3,000. She said: "We really need a disabled chair hoist at the pool and it is close to my heart because my specialism is teaching swimming to children and adults with physical disabilities and special needs."
To sponsor Emily visit her www.virginmoneygiving.com/emilymorris or contact Andrew Bates, of YMCA London South West on 020 8399 5427.
