people
Creating
waves for
charity
Brisbane man Michael Powell
has completed one of the
world’s most gruelling physical
challenges by swimming the
English Channel.
M
ichael, 55, lost part of his
Years later, that thought started
left leg in a tractor accident expecting to complete it in around 18 to become reality when, in December
when he was four, but two hours, but said he stopped thinking 2015, he received an email from
about the clock midway through. Grimsey Adult Swimfit promoting an
years ago made the decision to take
on the 32-kilometre swim between
England and France.
Michael has become the sixth
amputee to swim the English Channel,
completing the swim in 15 hours and
25 minutes.
“At the start, the crew was telling
me how long I’d been going for, but
after four or five hours, I told them to
shut up,” he said.
“I wanted to be in the zone and
swimming, and that was it.
information night about swimming
the English Channel.
“I was so excited I couldn’t sleep
for two weeks,” he said.
“Most nights I was going through the
‘will I or won’t I’ phase. My wife Amanda
He took on the challenge to “My prime focus was getting raise money for charity Foodbank there, I wasn’t focussed on how long Queensland and collected more than it took. Towards the end, I could see $28,000. the shore for what seemed a very long one thousand pound deposit for a
time. pilot boat called Masterpiece.”
He said the swim was initially
smooth in water temperatures around
“When I finally touched a bit of
finally said just swim the Channel or I will
always regret it if I don’t.
“So on January 1, 2016, I paid a
Michael was coached in Brisbane
18 degrees, but conditions became sand with my arm I thought, ‘now I can by Trent Grimsey, the world record
more difficult midway through. feel like I’ve made it’.” holder for the English Channel swim,
“The French inshore just went
24
Michael initially went into the swim
Michael said as a kid he was and received nutrition advice from
really choppy, the wind got up, inspired by Australian Des Renford Tara Diversi. Trent worked with Red
the currents turned around, and it — dubbed the King of the Channel in Top Swim based in London to offer
went from being pleasant to quite the 1970s — and thought: “I want to a full program for swimming the
challenging,” he said. do that.” Channel.
people
linkonline.com.au