Who am I?

Two-time British Olympian in Marathon Open Water Swimming, having won Britains first World Medal in 13 years and finishing 6th in Paris 2024 last summer.

This year, I’m attempting a World first: to swim Britain's three largest lakes – Loch Lomond in Scotland, Windermere in England, and Lake Bala in Wales – back-to-back in under 24 hours. No one has ever completed this challenge successfully. This monumental feat will see me cover 34.5 miles of swimming, putting my limits to the ultimate test. This is almost twice the length of the English Channel. I'll be in the water for a minimum of 13 hours, battling conditions from the 14–15-degree waters of Loch Lomond in the pitch black where visibility will be zero, to the harsh, challenging winds of Lake Bala. Inspired by the traditional Three Peaks Mountain challenge, I wanted to create something just as iconic – but in the water.

Across the UK, our rivers and lakes are being polluted by sewage and agricultural runoff, making them unsafe – not just for athletes like me, but for anyone who wants to enjoy them. It’s more than an environmental issue; it’s about health, access, opportunity, and national pride. In 2024, UK water companies paid out £1.2 billion to shareholders – while discharging raw sewage into our rivers and seas 592,478 times. The system is fundamentally broken. That’s why I’m supporting a campaign to drive real change in how our water system is regulated and managed. We now face the biggest opportunity for reform in over three decades. A major government-led review into the water sector is underway – the most significant since privatisation. Crucially, sewage pollution has risen to the top of the national agenda, and there are now 81 active criminal investigations into water companies in England – the largest crackdown of its kind in history.

I’ve grown up in open water. It’s given me opportunities I could never have imagined – from swimming in my local mere as a kid to representing Great Britain on the World stage. But the waters that shaped me are now under threat.

In 2023, I swam the length of Lake Windermere and broke the World Record. As proud as I was, I finished that swim with a feeling that I could do more. That moment lit the spark for something much bigger.

This isn’t just about pushing my own limits. It’s about using the platform I’ve built through sport to fight for the environment that made me. That’s why I’m fundraising for Surfers Against Sewage, an incredible charity holding polluters to account and giving a voice to the public in this fight. Their work has helped bring national attention to an issue that affects the health of our communities, our environment, and our future.

But progress takes more than awareness – it takes funding. That’s why I’m aiming to raise £15,000 to support this vital work. Every penny goes towards holding water companies accountable and driving change that protects our waterways and public health.

If you care about clean water, about protecting nature, about the power of sport – or just believe that people shouldn’t get sick from swimming safely in their local lake – please consider supporting. Every donation helps fuel this mission.

Thank you, Hector.