Geraldine Court is possibly the oldest person to swim the Lyme Bay challenge in the United Kingdom. The swim starts at Sandy Bay, near Exmouth, and finishes at Ansteys Cove, Torquay.
The 21 kilometre swim, which Ms Court managed without a wetsuit, is the longest she has ever done and included extra challenges like eating while treading water and fighting the wind and tides.
Beginning at 5.30 am on Sunday, she managed to complete the swim in time for dinner.
Her efforts raised around $1,000 (about $1,700 Australian) for charity Above Water, which teaches children and adults about water safety.
Just when the challenge was starting to get to her, Ms Court said she was spurred on by the founder of Above Water, Brendon Prince, who joined her from a paddleboard to help her cross the finish line.
Ms Court told the BBC, “I was so tired and ready to throw the towel in, but the support boat crew were amazing.”
She said she was encouraged to do the swim because the charity plays an important role in educating people about the dangers of water and how to act safely.
“There’s so much out there that they don’t realise [water] can actually be really dangerous if they don’t have that knowledge – it’s all about water education and saving lives.”
Despite being the oldest swimmer out there, Ms Court said age was never a barrier to fulfilling her promise to swim the Lyme Bay route on behalf of the charity.
“I did it at the age of 72…possibly the oldest person to have ever swam this route,” she said.
“It’s just a lovely thing to do. It’s not high impact and you just do get that feel-good factor when you come out, it’s absolutely wonderful.”
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