This September, Sir Richard Branson, the legendary founder of the Virgin Group and intrepid adventurer, and singer-songwriter Ronan Keating of Boyzone fame will headline a ten-member relay team.
They will swim 56 miles across the Irish Sea in the hopes of raising at least £1million for Cancer Research UK.
The Swim is a celebrity-led challenge that will bring much attention to the sport and its challenge and its allure. The 56-mile relay swim will take up to 40 hours from Holyhead to Dublin where two coveted spots are open to the public.
The Swim will give two people a the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To be eligible to be on the team, they will need to raise a minimum of £100 and swim 3K in the open water by July. Ten places will be drawn at random and ten places will be offered to the highest fundraisers. The chosen 20 will be invited to a swim trial in July to assess their fitness, technique and ability to work in a team.
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.