Nokia and Human Race are staging the 2-mile Nokia Thames Swim as part of the Nokia Outdoor Series, a selection of events designed to celebrate the great outdoors and enable people to enjoy being active together in some of the UK’s most spectacular locations.
And the River Thames is definitely one of the most iconic stretches of water in the UK.
Human Race founder John Lunt explains, “This is something I’ve always wanted to do. To stage a swim event in a stunning place where you can’t normally swim; together with the support of Hampton Court Palace, the Environmental Agency and Nokia we can offer this amazing opportunity for the first time – in what we expect will become a classic event.”
For swimmers new to the sport, there will be several key points that emphasize safety: kayakers positioned every 50 meters, waves of 100 swimmers will be set off at 10-minute intervals, swimmers will swim together with the current, the course is never more than 15 meters from the river bank, wetsuits are mandatory and the field is limited to 1,000 swimmers.
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.