Press Release

Olympic heroes inspire thousands at great north swim

15 September 2008

Olympic medallists David Davies and Cassie Patten swam to victory in the UK's largest open water event - the inaugural Great North Swim.

The one-mile course on Lake Windermere attracted a field of over 2,200 swimmers of all ages, standards and experiences, including celebrities and Government ministers, but it was the Beijing heroes that took top honours.

The men's event saw a continuation of the epic battle that took place over 10km in Beijing but it was Davies who came out on top this time around taking the gold in 17:02.67 from Holland's Maarten van der Weijden in 17:04.82 with the silver and Thomas Lurz of Germany in 17:18.20 with the bronze.

Britain's Alan Bircher, in his last open water event, finished fourth ahead of another British Olympian, Dave Carry in fifth place.

In the Women's race Cassie Patten and Keri-Anne Payne lead the field home with Patten touching in 18:21.49 in a close finish from Payne in 18:21.83. Jennifer Jackson claimed third spot, Jodie Swallow was fourth in 18:24.34 and Germany's Stefanie Biller was fifth in 18:58.19.

For Davies it was his first swim since his heroic effort in Beijing over the 10km course but he was delighted with the result and the event as a whole.

"The event was just amazing. To be swimming with so many people and to be cheered on by so many spectators was really impressive," said Davies.

"It was also the first time I've ever swam in a wetsuit and that was an experience in itself but to come out on top of such a big and talented field is pleasing in my first swim since Beijing."

Davies hopes the event will become a major annual occasion as he feels the environment and course are perfect to attract swimmers.

"The setting itself is stunning, the course has been well thought out and swimmers had everything they needed to really enjoy the event," said Davies.

"To have something like this in Britain is a real achievement. We see the Great North Run every year and want to make sure the swim also becomes an annual event attracting even more swimmers and spectators.

"The reception I received when I got out of the water was amazing, it really was special and I'd certainly look to support the event again which shows people what open water swimming is all about, promotes health and activity, and raises money for charity."

The returning Olympic swimmers provided inspiration to the thousands of swimmers who took part including The Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP, Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport.

Chief Executive of the asa, David Sparkes, was impressed with the asa-endorsed event and sees a great future for Britain's biggest open water event.

"The Great North Swim in my view is a massive success story with over 2,200 people turning up in Windermere to swim a fantastic course," said Sparkes.

"These swimmers were cheered on and supported all the way by a crowd of around 10,000 people at the venue and it frankly brought the roads leading to Windermere to a standstill. I was really impressed."

The Great North Swim is the latest event to be launched as part of the Take To The Streets - a national initiative designed to fight spiralling inactivity and obesity rates, while raising money for charity in the process.

Using scientific proof that the motivation of training for an event is the key factor to increasing fitness, it offers people the chance to take up the challenge of a mass participation event from a collection of hundreds within a national framework.

Inspired by the BUPA Great North Run, the world's biggest half marathon, the Great North Swim, will be the first event to be offered as part of the campaign's exciting new swimming category.