Gail Taylor, from Wing, and her former university friend Teresa Hogsbjerg from Godalming in Surrey have recently swum across the English Channel in a two-person relay raising over £7,000 for Bowel Cancer UK in memory of two of their friends who died of the terrible disease.
The two swimmers set off from the British shore between Dover and Folkestone just before sunset on Sunday 26thJune, successfully reaching a beach in France on Monday afternoon, almost 15 and a half hours after setting off.
The swimmers lost one of their close university friends to bowel cancer, aged just 30 who was a mother of a young child, then soon after that another of Gail’s closest friends was also taken by the disease at the age of 31 years so they chose to raise money for Bowel Cancer UK in memory of their late friends.
Following their epic swim, the pair said: “There was nothing in our heads other than getting to the other side. We always knew we would, because we could not let each other down. The friendship we have had over 21 years has taught us many things and this latest adventure taught us that anything is possible and that teamwork makes the dream work.
“The memories of our friends who lost their lives to bowel cancer came into our thoughts many times on our journey across. We started on what would have been Claire’s 40th birthday which in itself was amazing. At some point during the night, we saw a huge shooting star, possibly Natalie giving us a push in what was a particularly tough part of the swim. Even our boat captain, Fred, said that the gods were looking over us because as soon as we left the French shores the wind went crazy.
“All in all, this experience has been something we will never forget; we’ve spent years training for it whilst managing our personal and professional lives to make this possible and we are so grateful to all those who have sponsored us and supported us in any way and helped to raise awareness about bowel cancer.”
There is still time to donate to their fundraising page, please visit – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/GandTChannelswim22?utm_campaign=lc_frp_share_transaction_fundraiser_page_donation_received_-_nth_donation&utm_content=3737ac47-7e59-4826-90ca-b5b51452234e&utm_medium=email&utm_source=postoffice&utm_term=1647856203603&fbclid=IwAR1GL5y-5EeEt_Z-svqHzbzq9-bFqvI6kZV0lgb__2kxemXQ7CFLSsbmIxU
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