June 25th marks World Swim Against Malaria Day.

June 25th is World Swim Against Malaria Day. You can either swim on the day or swim afterwards and raise money to reduce the number of deaths worldwide from Malaria.

Currently, up to 3 million people a year die of Malaria, 70 per cent of them children under 5. Yet just $5 is enough to buy a mosquito net that could save their lives.

This year Swim Against Malaria hopes to get a million people swimming a combined total of 40,000km – enough to go around the circumference of the earth. To register your swim go to the World Swim Against Malaria website where you can enter your country, distance and amount of money pledged.

As an added incentive, Speedo is giving away 35,000 pieces of swimwear (see the items here) to World Swim Against Malaria. All you have to do to get an item is donate a minimum of $5 (the cost of 1 net). Donating over $20 will get you the maximum 4 items. All you pay for is postage and packaging.

Several Speedo-sponsored swimmers will be taking part in raising money. So far Liam Tancock, Rebecca Adlington and Filippo Magnini have all signed up for a Swim Against Malaria. You can see the details here.

Some great aerial pics over on the BBC website of the Olympics stadium and the Aquatics Centre complete with 2800 tonne wave-shaped roof!

London Aquatics Centre with wave roof

The Olympic Park complete with stadium (top) and aquatics centre (bottom)

Michael Phelps has signed up for this year's World Swim Against Malaria

Michael Phelps is to take to the water on June 25th as part of this year’s World Swim Against Malaria.

The world’s largest participatory swim event, it aims to attract up to a million participants, with every penny raised spent on the purchase and distribution of protective nets to prevent the spread of one of the world’s most deadly diseases in Africa and other affected regions.

Speedo has supported World Swim Against Malaria since 2005, a period which has seen a total of more than $2 million raised and almost one million people protected from malaria.
With Speedo swimmers having so far covered a total distance of 13,059 kilometres, Speedo is this year aiming to recruit enough swimmers to swim 40,074 kilometres – the distance around the world.

Announcing his support for the cause, Michael Phelps said:“I’m honoured to join Speedo in an effort to organise a swim around the world in support of Swim Against Malaria and help stop the spread of this deadly disease.

“I hope that we encourage as many people as possible to join Team Speedo on June 25th to complete the round the world swim for this great cause.”

Speedo has already announced its continued support of the cause by donating 35,000 items of men’s, women’s and children’s swimwear to those who participate in the swim. By registering at www.worldswimagainstmalaria.com/speedo, swimmers can claim an item of swimwear for each $5(US) they donate, up to a maximum of four pieces, with only postage and packaging payable.

To find out more information about World Swim Against Malaria and how to get involved visit the website: www.worldswimagainstmalaria.com/speedo

Lewis Gordon Pugh is to swim under the summit of Mount Everest to highlight the effects of climate change

British endurance swimmer and tireless campaigner for the environment, Lewis Gordon Pugh, is preparing for his most extreme challenge to date – a swim under the summit of Mount Everest, wearing just a pair of Speedo swimming trunks, cap and goggles.

The Pick n Pay/SAP Everest Challenge aims to continue to raise awareness of climate change and will see Pugh attempt to swim 1km at an altitude of 5,300 metres across the freezing waters of a lake next to the Khumbu Glacier on May 22nd 2010.

Pugh, who two years ago swam across an open patch of sea at the North Pole to highlight the melting of the Arctic sea ice, will be the first person to attempt this. He expects the swim will take approximately 20 minutes and he will once again wear Speedo for the challenge.

Pugh has spent a great deal of time previously defying the elements in expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. Increasingly concerned about the effects of global warming on the polar regions, he is single-minded on his mission to raise further awareness in other areas of the world.

Lewis said: “These glaciers are not just ice. They are a lifeline – they provide water to a fifth of the world’s population. The Hindu Kush Himalayas Region has warmed on average by approximately 1oC and glaciers in the region are melting rapidly. Entire glaciers have disappeared in places. Lake Imja, where I will undertake a number of training swims, has formed due to the melting of the Imja Glacier. We must do all we can to raise awareness of the effects of climate change here.”

Lewis added: “People in Asia and Africa are already living with the realities of climate change. We are living in a global environment. What happens in one part of the world will directly impact other parts. We must stop arguing about whether China, the USA or the EU should act first. Given the urgency every country needs to put in place every solution at its disposal.”

The marble lined, art deco Marshall Street Baths will re-open as part of the Marshall Street Leisure Centre this summer

Delighted to report the re-opening of Marshall Street Baths this summer. An absolutely wonderful Grade II listed, 1930s art deco swimming baths, it is to be rechristened as the Marshall Street Leisure Centre.

As well as the marble lined pool, it will feature two exercise/dance studios, two fitness suites and a health suite with sauna and steam rooms. Also available will be a range of treatments and therapies. The centre will be run as a public facility by Nuffield Health on behalf of Westminster City Council.

It’s great news as the old building has been unloved for some time and the pool has been empty for years. I went there a few years back when Duncan Goodhew was raising some publicity for the site and was blown away by the elegance of the pool and the size of the site considering its location in the heart of London’s Soho.

The site has been redeveloped by Marshall Street Regeneration – a consortium made up of Resolution Property plc and The Vinyl Factory Ltd, a local business in the Soho area – which managed to secure the original planning consent with the support of local interest groups and also successfully refurbish and redevelop the historic Baths.

As well as developing the swimming pool and leisure centre on behalf of Westminster City Council, the scheme also includes 37 luxury loft apartments and penthouses adjacent to the Marshall Street Baths. There will also be 15 affordable housing units available through the redevelopment, four of which will be provided as shared ownership and the remaining 11 as social rented units.

All in all it’s great news. Just a shame that other historic baths, such as this one in Aberdeen featured recently which actually looks very similar to Marshall Street albeit on a much bigger scale, haven’t been saved from council cutbacks. Maybe this will give other historic Baths a lifeline.

For more information on Marshall Street Leisure Centre go to its website here.

James enjoys a much deserved beer after rowing the Atlantic

After nearly two years of preparation and 110 days at sea, James Ketchell has crossed the Atlantic in his Speedo-sponsored rowing boat. He arrived at Antigua, English Harbour at 13.44 local time, 18.34 UK time on April 24. The total time for the crossing was 110 days 4 hours and 4 minutes.

Here is an extract from his Facebook page.

“The reception that I received absolutely blew my mind with well over 100 well wishers all eagerly awaiting my arrival. Fortunately 2 miles out of English Harbour the local Antigua and Barbuda search and rescue came out to guide me into the harbour. It turned out the entrance was completely hidden behind a headland so was completely blind to me. There was also a very strong current that would of blasted me straight past the entrance to the harbour if I wasn’t careful.

Stepping off the boat was a strange but phenomenal experience. Actually the experience is almost impossible to describe. It has been a very tough 110 days. Never have I felt so demoralized and fed up when you find you’ve rowed all day and basically stayed still. On the flip side the Atlantic can be the best place on earth when the conditions are right and everything is going perfectly. I’ve come to the conclusion that the highs and lows are just all part of ocean rowing. When I set off from Gomera 110 days ago I knew the challenge was with myself and the Atlantic was just the reward. It’s totally impossible to conquer the Atlantic that is one thing I can tell you for sure. I was very lucky to make it across safely.

James Ketchell as he starts his row across The Atlantic in his Speedo sponsored boat

Although I’ve spent the last 110 days on my own and pushing myself as much as I can this epic adventure could not of happened with out all the help and support of my sponsors and people around me. So really everyone that has supported and sponsored me was just a big a part of this project as me. So from a pretty tired and skinny captain Ketch a massive thank you to everyone that has been behind me financially and emotionally for the last 2 years.

Photos of my arrival will be uploaded over the next few days. I think you’ll all be amazed at what I look like. The next couple of days I will be just relaxing with my family who are currently flying out. Sadly they did miss my arrival but they were there in spirit and I know they are relived I’ve now arrived safely. Also over the next week video footage and lots of photos of the crossing will be going up too.

110 days of battling across the Atlantic has got to be worth a donation to my charity if you’ve not done so already. www.justgivving.com/jamesketchell Many thanks in advance. Captain Ketch”