The Swimming Gardener Sprouts Lots Of Great Ideas
Steve White, known as the Swimming Gardener, is a British open water swimmer with lots of creative ideas for charity. The 43-year-old once swam 15 miles in a little over 10 hours through stormy seas from Littlehampton to Worthing and back. raised more than £13,000 in the process, mostly for The Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice in West Sussex and a smaller sum for the RNLI which provided White with escorts and a support crew every stroke of the way.
“As a long-term back pain sufferer I took up endurance swimming as a way of controlling back pain and keeping fit,” explains White. “In 2011 I swam 15 miles in a stormy English Channel from Littlehampton to Worthing and back. In 2012, I suffered a major deep vein thrombosis whilst raising funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and became more angry and determined than ever. Six weeks after the DVT, I swam 6 km in the River Arun to help film an episode of ‘Fat, the fight of my life’ for Sky Television.”
In 2013, White performed the ‘Splash4cash‘, a 10-hour swim in which sponsors guessed how far he could swim on a route from Worthing to Littlehampton and up the river Arun against the current. “It was impossible to predict. The final distance was 23,410 metres, given the opposing current of England’s second fastest river, the actual distance swam through the water was just over 30 km.”
Copyright © 2014 by World Open Water Swimming Association
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.
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