Salt ecstatic after conquering English Channel
“Tough, extremely cold, and yet very fulfilling.”
These are just some of the words Bruce Salt used to describe the experience of swimming across the English Channel.
The Namibian businessman completed the gruelling swim in 13 hours and 46 minutes on 3 October.
He was doing it in support of the Cancer Care Namibia Fund (CCNF).
The fund was opened as a tribute to Bruce''s eldest brother, Neil, who succumbed to lymphoma in 2011.
Neil had requested in his will that CCNF be created to help Namibian cancer patients, in particular to pay for the accommodation of family members supporting them during treatment.
In an effort to raise awareness about lymphoma and the activities of CCNF, Salt tackled the challenge of swimming about 35 kilometres across the channel.
An official from the Channel Swimming Association was present throughout the entire swim to officially recognise the attempt, implement the rules and record the official time.
Despite the hardships faced during the swim, Salt said he was surprised that he didn''t feel that tired.
“I felt like I could go on even further,” he joked at an event held last Wednesday.
Salt would not have been able to complete the journey without the support of family, friends and his coach, who he described as the driving force in making sure that he kept training.
Flying Fish, an SABMiller brand, also played a big part as they had sponsored Salt''s trip to England.
Their partnership was a perfect one, said a press statement from Flying Fish.
“The Flying Fish brand ideology continuously admires individuals such as Bruce; individuals who possess determination, true guts and the mind set to change the world… It is these traits that Bruce emulates and the causes he holds dear that Flying Fish joined his flavoursome journey,” part of the statement said.
Salt reflected on his next challenge.
“I might do a swim at the Pelican Point in Swakopmund. The distance is shorter, about 25 kilometres, but I think it would be nice to have something closer to home,” he said. But for now, he is only considering recuperating from his English Channel excursion.
“I will return to swimming next week and will only look at logistics regarding my next challenge at a later stage,” he said.
Bruce now joins female swimmer Bobby Jo Bassingthwaite, who did the swim in 1999, and the Strokes for Earth relay team (2015) as Namibians to have successfully conquered the English Channel.
HECTOR MAWONGA
These are just some of the words Bruce Salt used to describe the experience of swimming across the English Channel.
The Namibian businessman completed the gruelling swim in 13 hours and 46 minutes on 3 October.
He was doing it in support of the Cancer Care Namibia Fund (CCNF).
The fund was opened as a tribute to Bruce''s eldest brother, Neil, who succumbed to lymphoma in 2011.
Neil had requested in his will that CCNF be created to help Namibian cancer patients, in particular to pay for the accommodation of family members supporting them during treatment.
In an effort to raise awareness about lymphoma and the activities of CCNF, Salt tackled the challenge of swimming about 35 kilometres across the channel.
An official from the Channel Swimming Association was present throughout the entire swim to officially recognise the attempt, implement the rules and record the official time.
Despite the hardships faced during the swim, Salt said he was surprised that he didn''t feel that tired.
“I felt like I could go on even further,” he joked at an event held last Wednesday.
Salt would not have been able to complete the journey without the support of family, friends and his coach, who he described as the driving force in making sure that he kept training.
Flying Fish, an SABMiller brand, also played a big part as they had sponsored Salt''s trip to England.
Their partnership was a perfect one, said a press statement from Flying Fish.
“The Flying Fish brand ideology continuously admires individuals such as Bruce; individuals who possess determination, true guts and the mind set to change the world… It is these traits that Bruce emulates and the causes he holds dear that Flying Fish joined his flavoursome journey,” part of the statement said.
Salt reflected on his next challenge.
“I might do a swim at the Pelican Point in Swakopmund. The distance is shorter, about 25 kilometres, but I think it would be nice to have something closer to home,” he said. But for now, he is only considering recuperating from his English Channel excursion.
“I will return to swimming next week and will only look at logistics regarding my next challenge at a later stage,” he said.
Bruce now joins female swimmer Bobby Jo Bassingthwaite, who did the swim in 1999, and the Strokes for Earth relay team (2015) as Namibians to have successfully conquered the English Channel.
HECTOR MAWONGA
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