Interview with Sean Kelly, open water coach

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

Goggleblog's Chris Price (left) with Speedo sponsored coach Sean Kelly (right)

Goggleblog headed down for a dip in London’s Serpentine Lido to talk to Speedo coach Sean Kelly about swimming in open water, coaching Olympic silver medalist Kerri-Anne Payne and our prospects for the London 2012 Olympics.

You’re perhaps best known for working with Keri-Anne Payne, but you coach a number of swimmers don’t you?

As well as Kerri-Anne I also work with Cassie Patten (who finished third in Beijing behind Kerri-Anne Payne), James Goddard, David Carry and Michael Rock.

How did you get into swimming coaching?

I swam indoors when I was a youngster as well as playing semi-professional football. I also did some lifeguarding in Australia. But it was only when I taught a young child to swim who couldn’t swim at all that I realised teaching was for me.

Do you like to swim in open water?

I do now. I like to swim all the open water courses we go to around the world.

What do you think are the main differences between pool swimming and open water swimming?

Goggleblog's Chris Price with Sean Kelly and journalists Nicola Joyce (freelance) and Nick Hutchings (Men's Fitness)

Well it’s colder for a start! I think the venues are more interesting than the inside of a pool. The open water team gets to some amazing places around the world.

Obviously it’s freestyle based as opposed to the other strokes and I think the key things are endurance training and swimming straight!

That’s true enough. I seem to remember Dave Davies went off at a funny angle when he was swimming in Beijing.

Yes he did. There was a lot of debate about that. We thought he needed to practise more in open water prior to going to Beijing but he was also focused on the pool. Maybe with hindsight he may have done a few more races.

Do you train in open water or in the pool?

We do train prior to competitions in open water, but we do most of our training in the pool.

Why is that?

Because it’s measurable and we can control the environment which you can’t always do outdoors. Also we can use our video analysis systems so we can make sure the strokes are efficient. We’ve got all our sports science equipment set up at the pool and it’s very difficult to lug that out to an open water setting.

Why do you think open water swimming has become so popular of late? Everyone seems to be talking about it.

I think in the swimming fraternity once open water swimming became an Olympic event people started to take it more seriously. When there’s an Olympic medal up for grabs people are going to switch to the sport. There’s nothing quite so prestigious for me as the Olympics. We did particularly well in Beijing winning three of the six medals so I think it just took off from there really.

What do you think our prospects are for 2012?

Well we’ll be in there (he points to the Serpentine in London’s Hyde Park). I think the prospects are good. We’ve got some young swimmers coming through. Mark Perry is head coach of the open water team and he’s doing a great job. We’ve just come back from European Juniors where we won golds in both male and female races. It seems the future for open water swimming is really, really bright. I can’t wait for London!

Sean Kelly is a Speedo sponsored coach

See the video interview with Sean below:

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Review: Marshall Street Baths v Kentish Town Pool

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

The art deco Marshall Street Baths which have recently re-opened. A beautiful swimming experience but not cheap.

Last week was a great week for checking out newly renovated swimming pools in London.

At one point it looked like both Marshall Street and Kentish Town pools were going to be turned into flats and the pools lost to the public forever.

After years of neglect the beautiful Marshall Street Baths were closed down in 1997. Kentish Town Baths (also known as St Pancras Baths) followed ten years later with most pessimistically predicting that it would never re-open.

Things looked bleak for a while. But thanks to public pressure, both have now been renovated to a high standard, each with £25 million investment. Though the back story behind the pools is similar, the pools are markedly different. While Marshall Street serves a fairly upmarket Soho clientele (mostly media folk it seems) with upmarket prices too boot (£5.25 for an adult swim), Kentish Town attracts a much more diverse audience reflecting the diverse local area. It’s also a bit cheaper at just £4.05 for an adult swim (£1.50 for kids).

What’s more, the two complexes are also very different in size. Marshall Street has one Grade II art deco main pool (several apartments were also created as part of the refurbishment) while Kentish Town Leisure Centre as it’s now called comprises two main pools – the 33m Willes Pool and the 25m Grafton Pool plus a state of the art gym. However, both sit within large Victorian complexes.

Art deco splendour

When I went to Marshall Street, admittedly only a couple of days after it opened, it was like I’d arrived in paradise. Apart from the high price, almost everything else about the experience was perfect. Lifeguards greeted me on my arrival and were happy, almost proud, to answer my questions about the development. Among the things that I learned was that the advanced filtration system meant that chlorine levels were much lower than in other pools.

Certainly the water was clean and cool, and the length of the pool (around 33m) was much longer than you would expect in the centre of the city. Changing rooms were clean though the communal area felt a little like a Town Hall.

In many ways Marshall Street reminds me of the Porchester Spa in Paddington where I have interviewed several Speedo athletes, but it is much, much prettier with its marble lined walls and feature lighting. It’s also a lot more convenient for Goggleblog’s West End offices!

Water carry on

Compare this to my experience of Kentish Town Baths, now Kentish Town Leisure Centre, 3pm on a Sunday afternoon. There was a large queue to get in and at 3.15pm when I reached the front of the queue, I was told we weren’t allowed to take our son into either pool – the Grafton Pool was too busy and the Willes Pool too deep for children.

Ten minutes later and the woman on the desk changed her mind after much protestation and agreed to let us in the Grafton Pool, but already I was beginning to regret bringing the family down for a ‘leisurely’ swim. The experience in the changing rooms wasn’t much better (predictably the family changing area was busy which meant we had to get changed separately) but things went from bad to worse when we reached the pool.

A group of about 10 teenagers were doing their utmost to spoil it for everyone else by doing all the things restricted on the ‘Will Patrons Kindly Refrain From’ poster – everything that is apart from ‘petting’. There was, however, plenty of bombing, diving, running, shouting and acrobatics. Eventually the harassed lifeguard had to chuck out the main culprit – a terrible swimmer who thought he was Michael Phelps – but not before he got a load of abuse from him and his mates.

While swimming in The Grafton Pool was one of the more horrendous swimming experiences I’ve had, by contrast the larger Willes Pool was much better. For a start it looks absolutely fantastic with its timber beams, viewing gallery and high roof – slightly reminiscent of an old church. The water was much cleaner than the Grafton too (there seemed to be bits of plastic floating in the Grafton) and a degree or two cooler as well.

So which is the best pool? Marshall Street or Kentish Town. Well really it’s difficult to compare. When I was at Marshall Street it was the middle of a weekday while at Kentish Town it was a busy weekend during the summer holiday. Marshall Street looks quite glamorous but I have fond memories of Kentish Town from when I used to work in the area (though I did get my locker broken into the last time I was there before it shut down, leaving me naked apart from a pair of Speedos in the foyer, phoning my wife to bring me clothes.)

To be honest, I hope they both do really well and never, ever face closure again. If nothing else I hope the teenage boys who were playing up at Kentish Town get some proper teaching and learn the joy of swimming as both a form of exercise and relaxation.

Guardian: Kentish Town Baths re-open

Westminster City Council

Camden Council

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Why it is wrong for the French to ban the ‘burkini’

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Burkinis, like this one from Zoggs, have been banned in parts of France

There has been an awful lot of publicity recently about France’s decision to ban the burka. Under the new law, women who hide their faces and husbands who force them to do so can be fined up to £25,000.

Now it seems, however, that the law is being taken even further with reports in the papers last week of women wearing ‘burkinis’ being asked to leave a holiday camp in Southern France.

Regardless of what you think about the decision to ban the burka, there does seem a world of difference between a garment which covers the entire body including the face (a burka if it covers the face completely or a niqab if it leaves the eyes exposed) and the kind of ‘modesty suits’ that are favoured by Muslim women who want to swim.

Indeed, the Zoggs Lynton Modesty suit which we sell on Goggleblog is in many ways more akin to the old fashioned swimsuits favoured by women in the western world until the middle of the twentieth century.

Perhaps the only real difference is that it covers the hair like a bonnet, but then many women achieve the same effect by wearing a swimming cap. Personally, I don’t understand why women in the street would want to wear a burka or a niqab whereas I can understand why women in a pool or in the sea might want to cover themselves up a bit more.

After all, in a conventional swimsuit you are exposing quite a bit of flesh – something you don’t have to do if you wear normal clothing. Indeed as a man I would feel very self conscious in tight Speedo briefs or budgie smugglers as they are sometimes called whereas I feel much more comfortable in knee length Jammers which are much more modesty preserving.

To vilify Muslim women for wanting to cover up their bodies in a pool therefore strikes me as wrong, especially if it makes them feel more confident about swimming in public. My own personal experience of selling ‘burkinis’ is that many Muslim women who would otherwise not have taken up swimming have decided to do so. To prevent them from swimming will deny them an opportunity to enjoy what is widely regarded as one of the best and most enjoyable forms of exercise possible.

Of course the women at the French holiday camp weren’t told they were being kicked out for religious reasons. Instead they were told their costumes violated hygiene rules. In the same way, men are often prevented from wearing shorts in the water in France. But this again is nonsense. Clearly there aren’t any hygiene issues unless the garment in question is being worn on the streets as an item of leisure wear and then worn in the pool – as some shorts could be, but not a burkini which could only really be worn by the pool.

I hope that the authorities in France let common sense prevail. And let women who want to cover their bodies up while swimming do so!

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Interview: Liam Tancock, the world’s fastest backstroker

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

Liam Tancock puts the much less muscled and less tanned journalists through their paces!

The world’s fastest 50m backstroker with a time of 24.04 seconds, 25 year old Liam Tancock is one of our brightest medal hopes for the London 2012 Olympic games.

We caught up with him in a rare break between training sessions at west London’s beautiful Porchester Spa.

Are you looking forward to the 2012 Olympics?

I can’t wait. Ever since it was announced it has inspired me and with just two years to go now it’s pretty exciting.

You are best known as a 50m backstroker. But you will be swimming the 100m in the Olympics won’t you?

That’s right. The 50m backstroke isn’t an Olympic event. I’ve been working hard on the 100 to improve my times.

What are the main requirements stepping up from 50m to 100m backstroke?

Obviously in the 50m there is no turning whereas in the 100 there will be. Getting the turns right is the key element I’ve been working on. But it’s definitely a slightly different focus. The 50m is an all out sprint though to be honest the 100 virtually is too. You’ve got to be clever with the way you race, you need the right training and race tactics to get out fast and strong and be able to hold it so you can come back strong as well. It’s all about being consistently fast.

Do you think we are going to get many medals in 2012?

I think what Rebecca Adlington did picking up two golds at the last Olympics was amazing. That hasn’t happened for 100 years. Really anything can happen. The Olympics inspires so many people, not just us but junior levels and kids in schools. I think it’s really an important time. If the fans are behind us, which I’m sure they will be, great things can happen.

Who are your main competitors?

Americans, Australians, Spanish guys, Russians. There’s some really good competition out there at the moment. I’ve been testing myself against them for a number of years.

What is your typical training routine?
Well a typical Monday would be to get up, do 2.5 hours in the pool with stretching before and after. Then it’s down to the gym where I’ll do weights for an hour and 15 minutes. Then it’s back to my house for some lunch and recovery. And then two and half hours later I’ll be back down the pool and swim for another 2.5 hours and stretch! Then back home, have some food and off to bed.

Is what you eat really important. Is there a special diet you have to follow?

To an extent. I’ve grown up doing the right thing so it’s the norm for me. You’ve got to eat the right things but at the right time. You can’t eat too close to training but you need to ensure you get the right nutrients into your body as soon as swimming has finished.

You’re a pretty sporty guy. You could have played professional rugby couldn’t you?

I love sport. I’ve always loved sport. I played rugby for Exeter and really enjoyed it. Obviously I swam for Exeter too. It came to a time when I had to decide what was going to be my main focus and I chose swimming and never looked back.

Liam Tancock in action at the Porchester Spa, Bayswater

Why did you choose swimming?

I really don’t know. My brother used to swim and I had great friends who were swimmers.

I had great friends who played rugby too. But swimming was something I did more often than rugby. I used to play rugby a few times a week whereas swimming can be ten times a week.

You’re a big fan of Exeter City aren’t you?

I’m an Exeter City fan and Exeter Chiefs fan. Both the football and rugby teams are doing well at the moment and I’m a proud supporter of them both.

Goggleblog's pale and skinny Chris Price with the muscular Liam Tancock

Finally, when you go on holiday are you able to relax by the pool? Or do you feel the need to get in and start racing?

Ha, I always have to have a pool when I go away but it can’t be an ordinary oblong pool. It’s got to have a lagoon or something that makes it more interesting than the pools I swim in all the time!

Liam Tancock is a Speedo sponsored athlete. For more info on Liam or Speedo please see speedo.co.uk

See the video interview with Liam below:

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Interview: Bill Furniss, Rebecca Adlington’s coach

Monday, July 5th, 2010

Rebecca Adlington’s swimming coach Bill Furniss

Just what goes into producing a top, world record breaking Olympic swimmer?

Goggleblog’s Chris Price was put through his paces with Rebecca Adlington’s coach, Bill Furniss, to find out….

How representative was the training session I’ve just done compared with what you do with Rebecca Adlington?

It’s just a little taster really. The fundamentals are the same, it’s just the amount of swimming that is different.

So how many hours does Rebecca train in the pool each week?

Rebecca does 20 hours a week, 10 two hour sessions. She swims up to 80 kilometres a week and on top of that she does three gym sessions. It’s a pretty hard lifestyle.

How important is the gym workout?

It’s really for core strength and stability as well as injury prevention. Rebecca’s a distance swimmer so we don’t do a lot of power work. She doesn’t do any heavy lifting. There’s more circuits and muscle endurance.

At what age did you recognise that Rebecca was such a huge talent?

Around 12 years of age. She’s always had a tenacity about her training and a desire to do things well. She’s a perfectionist and even at the age of 12 you could see that. She wanted it very badly and was prepared to work very hard. We could see she had great feel and good technique – she was a bit rough around the edges, a bit raw, but with the attitude she had we fast tracked her.

It does seem that we are getting some good swimmers through. What do you think our chances are for the 2012 Olympics?

Yes, I’m pretty excited. We’ve got some great swimmers. Not just Rebecca, but Jo Jackson, Liam Tancock, Fran Halsall, Elizabeth Simmonds. The list goes on. We have quite a few medal prospects. That being said it’s not easy to win a medal. We will be going into those games with a lot of opportunities and the more opportunities the more medal chances.

Do you think we’d do much better if we had more 50m pools where people could train?

I like 50m pools and would like more of them. The facility argument is very important, but I think as important, if not more important, is to have good coach/swimmer relationships. If you have good coaches working with good swimmers in good pool time then that’s the critical thing. Ideally that pool time is 50m, but don’t think that if you haven’t got a 50m pool you can’t become an Olympic champion. Rebecca proved you can. She does most of her swimming in a short course pool.

Do you have to be so determined even as young as 12 to make it as an Olympic champion?

There are some people who come through quite late. What I would say to most age group swimmers is don’t worry if at the age of 15, 16, 17 if you are not one of the very best. People improve at different rates and maturation has a lot to do with it. Boys are definitely later than girls coming through and at a young age the limiting factor is technique so what I would say to young swimmers is concentrate on improving your technique, improving your skills as well as your fitness. By the age of 18 it is usually a much more level playing field.

Coach Bill Furniss gives Goggleblog's Chris Price a few invaluable tips

What are the main faults you identify with ordinary swimmers? What do they typically get wrong?

People tend to focus on effort rather than technique. I’m not saying I don’t want swimmers to work very hard. I do. But it’s counterproductive if you are working very hard with poor technique. The main four things around technique, especially on freestyle, are a very good six beat kick, nice and low breathing action, stroke length and relaxation.

Bill Furniss is a Speedo coach. For more information go to Speedo’s website

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Interview: Lisa Irlam, Inventor of the Swimovate swim computer

Friday, June 25th, 2010

A keen swimmer and triathlete, Lisa spotted a gap in the market with a watch that can automatically count your laps

Swimovate’s Pool-Mate is a fabulous new gadget for swimmers. It may look like a watch but it is actually a fully automatic swimming computer which works out your speed, distance swum and calories burnt while you swim.

It also tells swimmers how efficient they are so that they can adapt their stroke or swimming style accordingly. And unlike any other swim product on the market it counts the number of laps completed without having to stop and press a button at the end of each lap.

Pool-Mate was the brainchild of keen triathlete, Lisa Irlam, who, along with her husband, set up Swimovate in November 2007.

She quit her job to invest her time and efforts into developing and manufacturing the Pool-Mate. It was a risk which has paid off as the Pool-Mate has become a huge success since it was launched in September 2009.

Goggleblog caught up with Lisa Irlam, inventor of the Pool-Mate, to ask her how it all came about.

How did you get the idea for the Pool-Mate?

Both my husband and I are triathletes and wanted something to help with our swimming. But when we looked for a device which would keep track of our performance there was nothing. We spotted there was a huge gap in the market for a product which could automatically count laps and measure performance so we decided to have a go at making one ourselves.

So, aside from swimming, what is your background? You must have been confident that you could actually make something which worked.

We had both worked in the electronics industry for twenty years. We made digital radios and other consumer electronics so we had the technical experience. We had also worked with manufacturers in the Far East.

That must have been invaluable when you decided to go it alone and manufacture pool mate yourselves?

Yes it was. We had no investment in Pool-Mate and financed and sourced everything ourselves. We did go on Dragons’ Den but got turned down. The Dragons liked the product but they couldn’t see a market for it.

How many have you sold so far?

Since Pool-Mate launched in September 2009 we have sold 12,000 in 60 different countries. The UK is our main market at the moment, as this is where we are based, but we also distribute all over Europe, Singapore and Brazil. The Pool-Mate currently sells in about 20 outlets in the US, but we are working to expand on this as there are seventy million regular swimmers in the USA.

Do you find that recreational swimmers buy the Pool-Mate or is it just performance swimmers?

About half the people who buy the Pool-Mate use it for recreational swimming. They want to be able to relax and think about something else when they swim rather than trying to keep a count of the laps.

So how does it work?

It has a built in accelerometer which monitors regular swimming motion and looks for a gap in the pattern which corresponds to a turn. It works for all strokes and tumble turns as well as for pushing off the side.

So what is next? Any new products or new versions of Pool-Mate planned?

We are currently working on the Pool-Mate Pro which will be a downloadable version of the Pool-Mate. This will have a USB so that you will be able interface with your PC and upload your performance data. It will come with software so that you will be able to analyse your performance statistics, produce graphs and so on. We also plan to have a heat rate version ready for launch in 2011.

Who are your main competitors?

There was nothing like this on the market when we developed the Pool-Mate and there is still no-one else producing a product which does what the Pool-Mate does.

Swimovate

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Speedo briefs coming back into fashion? Please no!

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

The Budgie Smugglers are back. Sales of tight swimming briefs, like those worn by champion swimmer David Wilkie in his day, may be on the rise.

Something odd is happening in the world of swimming fashion at the moment. It seems that the 1970s may be coming back.

Just as we were all getting used to longer length, modesty preserving trunks (known as jammers in industry jargon) it seems that a certain section of society is championing the return of the brief favoured by swimmers like David Wilkie (right).

Bosses at the Canadian offices of Speedo were ecstatic apparently when the costume team from the movie Sex and The City 2 called asking for nine pairs of their trademark male trunks for a pool scene featuring hot hunks. And The Telegraph newspaper had an article yesterday stating that the Microsoft-owned price comparison site Ciao had reported a 400 per cent increase in sales of swimming briefs.

A surge in sales of tight fitting swimming briefs has also been reported by Debenhams and John Lewis though it seems that the trend has been on the rise since Daniel Craig first graced our screens in his tight fitting trunks as James Bond three years ago.

Warned The Telegraph:
“They are an item of clothing no self-respecting Englishman would dare wear in public. But be warned: Speedos, the brand of ultra-skimpy swimming trunks, is expected to be spotted on every beach in Britain this summer.”

Personally I’m not sure. While there are going to be a certain section of the general public who feel confident enough to wear these tight fitting ‘budgie smugglers’ it’s not something the vast majority of men would buy.

And I suspect it’s not something the vast majority of women would want men folk to walk around in either – though maybe the Sex and the City girls are the exception! I think for now I’ll stick to my knee length Jammers.

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Interview: Lewis Pugh talks extreme swimming and the environment

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

Extreme swimmer Lewis Pugh swam 1km across a glacial lake on Mount Everest to highlight the issue of climate change

The first person to swim long distance in every ocean, Lewis Pugh, 40, has just completed his biggest challenge so far – a 1Km swim across a glacial lake on Everest at 5,300m.

Goggleblog caught up with him at Speedo’s Covent Garden store to talk about his ‘extreme swims’ and how he uses them to raise awareness about the dangers of climate challenge. His book, Achieving the Impossible, is out now.

How are you feeling after your challenge?
I’ve got a terrible sore throat. There is a lot of dust up on Everest and you can’t wear a face mask while you’re swimming like the climbers do.

You swam quite a bit of breast stroke during the Everest swim. Why was that?
It’s the first time I’ve ever swum breast stroke during a challenge. But I had to because I just couldn’t breathe properly at altitude.

How do you prepare for your extreme swims?
I do a huge amount of physical training, swimming in cold water, but the most important thing is to get the mind right. That’s the most challenging thing because as soon as you jump in the water everything is saying to you ‘get out’ because it’s so cold.

You have to keep on pushing. They used to talk in the SAS about the initials standing for Speed, Aggression, Surprise. When I left the SAS and went into swimming I decided that the best way to tackle cold was with speed and aggression. You have to just dive in and commit to it 100 per cent.

What influence does your time in the SAS have on what you do now?
It’s huge. You really do learn how to survive in very difficult conditions and how to push boundaries and how to choose teams. The team I’ve just taken up Everest was 38 people. You have to choose every single one of those people really carefully.

It’s not like if things go bad during the expedition you can change them. You’ve got to get the right people. My time in the SAS taught me how to identify the sort of people who can survive in very difficult conditions.

What was it like up on Everest?
The biggest difficulty was training for the altitude. It’s a significant altitude. It’s very difficult to breathe up there and all of us struggled. All of us were vomiting. As we were going up I sat in every single river to try and acclimatise my body and mind to the cold.

But I’m never swimming on Everest again. It’s such a frightening place, just so difficult to breathe up there. You wake up at night and you’re tossing and turning. I had very bad headaches and vomiting.

Just why did you choose to swim a glacial lake so high up on the mountain?
I chose that lake because I’m concerned about what’s happening in the Himalayas. Those glaciers are beginning to retreat because of climate change and they provide water to nearly 2 billion people –one in three people in this world. There is a real risk of instability and conflict in the area unless we are able to stop climate change because we have India, Pakistan and China all relying on water from the Himalayas.

How did your love of the environment start?
Well it actually started with my father. He was at an atomic bomb test in 1952. He used to describe that moment when the bomb went off and afterwards when he had to go back to pick up all the dead animals. That left quite a mark on him. He really instilled in me the need to love and protect the environment.

Why do you just wear Speedos for your swims?
I do it for a number of reasons, but the main one is that I go round the world meeting heads of state and business leaders, trying to get them to understand what’s happening, asking them to be courageous to enact laws to protect the environment.

If I’m asking them to be courageous I need to be courageous too. Also if you swam across the North Pole in a wetsuit I don’t think you’d get any publicity. And these swims are about trying to raise publicity for the environment.

Do you ever cover your body in grease to keep a little warmer during your swims?

I covered it in goose grease during a channel swim once, but it doesn’t make a jot of difference. People must be doing it for other reasons!

Can you tell us a little bit about the Polar Defence Project which you founded?
I did a swim across the north pole in 2007. Two months later the Russians sent a submarine there and planted a flag on the seabed. What they were doing is trying to claim all the rights for drilling for oil and gas all the way up to the north pole.

We’ve all seen what’s happening now with BP’s oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. I feel the Arctic should not be exploited – it should be one big national park. It’s not for the countries around there to start cutting it up and drilling for oil and gas. We should be moving to renewable energy.

How long do you think it will be before the glaciers have melted completely?
I don’t like to make predictions because we don’t know what’s going to happen. But there’s a glacier just north of Mount Everest that has lost 350ft of depth in 90 years. I don’t know how long it’s going to take but what I’ve seen already really frightens me.

So what’s next?

A bit of a rest. I’m moving from being a swimmer to being an environmental campaigner. I can’t see me doing this for a lot longer. It’s so extreme. It’s really a young man’s game.

I’ve got a couple more swims planned but not in cold water!

Thanks to Speedo.co.uk for arranging the interview with Lewis

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Lewis Pugh swims across Mount Everest glacial lake to highlight climate change

Monday, May 24th, 2010

Extreme swimmer Lewis Pugh swam 1km across a glacial lake on Mount Everest to highlight the issue of climate change

Adventurer Lewis Pugh, known as the ‘human polar bear’ for his extreme swimming challenges, has safely crossed a glacial lake on Mount Everest at over 5,000m to raise awareness of global warming.

Pugh, who has previously swum in Antarctica and the North Pole, not only had to battle extremely low temperatures of 2 degrees centigrade (36 fahrenheit) without a wet suit, he also had to cope with altitude sickness.

“It’s one of the hardest swims I’ve ever undertaken,” said the 40 year old. “Swimming 20 metres at full speed in the test swim I felt I was going to drown.”

“I was deeply concerned I wouldn’t make 1km and I’m delighted that I’ve finally achieved it…I had to find a delicate balance between going too fast in which case I might drown due to hyperventilation and going too slowly and risk dying of hyperthermia.”

Lewis swam the 1Km challenge in 22mins 55 seconds. You can see the swim on YouTube below:

See why Lewis Pugh completed the challenge on YouTube below:

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New Speedo ad campaign. What do you think of the illustrations?

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Here’s an interesting video which shows the making of the new Speedo TV ad and the concept behind the ‘My Escape, My Speedo’ campaign with the slogan ‘I’m a million miles from my desk’.

If nothing else it shows how much work (and yes money) goes into making an ad – creating a huge underwater stage at Pinewood Studios for filming, finding the right illustrator and merging the video footage with the computer generated illustrations.

To me though the ‘finished’ effect on this YouTube video looks slightly disappointing and I don’t quite know why. I love the underwater shots and the mermaid-like movement through the water but I think maybe the water colour illustrations are too subtle to really be appreciated on TV.

What do you think? You can find out more about the campaign at www.speedo.com/myspeedo