Sunday 1 August 2010 saw the first ever Nokia Thames Swim take place from Hampton Court Palace to Kingston-upon-Thames, staged by Human Race.
1,200 swimmers turned up for the early start opposite the picturesque Hampton Court Palace, with calm and mild water conditions, to swim the 2.25 miles to Kingston-upon-Thames.
Olympic Silver medalist open water swimmer Kerri-Anne Payne was on hand at the start to give swimmers some expert words of wisdom, her main point was for everyone to enjoy it.
Kerri-Anne, returning from the Open Water World Championships decided to do the swim with her father, resisting the temptation to race on her day off, however still recording an impressing time of 47minutes 50 seconds.
Kerri-Anne said "The race was amazing, the water was nice and warm and the location is brilliant. To swim but not race was really enjoyable, I can now see why people enjoy swimming so much, I had a great time out in the water talking and encouraging people along the way".
The swans made way as swimmers passed through Thames Ditton and past Ravens Ait before finishing at the chestnut trees at Kingston Bridge. Michael Adams was the first to come out of the water in a time of 42 minutes 43 seconds, followed by Richard Stannard 43.52 in second and Guy Giles in third with 45.11. Second place Richard Stannard, at the finish line said "What a great venue, a fantastic place to start a race and I'm definitely looking forward to doing it again next year. I want to win it next year". The ladies were hot on the heels of the men with Danni Pryor being the first woman and fourth overall swimmer out of the water with a time of 45 minutes 34 seconds. Following her were Faye Barnard 48.40 and Kay Hamilton 52.23. Amongst the swimmers were Olympic rower Toby Garbett, finishing in 52 minutes 41 seconds, showing that he not only excels on the water but also in it. Chris Jones from the events title sponsor Nokia said "Nokia are delighted to have brought the first ever Nokia Thames Swim to such an iconic location as the River Thames. Innovative events such as these are chosen because they are perfect for the Nokia Outdoor Series, they enable people to train in the great outdoors with friends and family". "The swim was a great success" said Human Race founder John Lunt, "This is something I've always wanted to do, stage an event where you can't normally swim, and the support that we've had today has exceeded all expectations".
Rebecca Poyntz of WaterAid, the official charity of the swim, said "We had over 100 swimmers, it was the first swimming event we've been involved in and it's been a great success. I'd like to thank our fundraisers who we expect to have raised over £10,000 for WaterAid, this will go towards helping some of the poorest people in the world gain access to clean water and sanitation".
For details on all future Human Race events including the The Eton Big Open Water Swim, go to our events page.
