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CHANNELING
Swimming the English Channel
Crossing the English Channel is an iconic challenge, right up there with Everest. A true measure of fitness, grit and resilience. In Channelling, a band of courageous swimmers share their stories of how they transcend the ordinary and battle cold, distance, pain, and self-doubt to test their limits and redefine what is possible.
About the Book
Swimming from Ordinary to Extraordinary
Swimming the English Challenge is one of those few remaining iconic challenges. The swimmer pitches
themselves against nature, ‘naked’, exposed to the vagaries of the cold, wind, wild seas, tides and
currents. Technology has little to do with success: no fins, no aquadynamic wet suits - just costume,
silicone cap and goggles. Strength, physical condition and mental toughness are the hallmarks of our
Channel swimmers.
Throughout these experiences we have noticed a metamorphosis, where ordinary people, most well
beyond the prime of youth, emerge from the water stronger and better. Their lives have changed
inextricably, and the Channel is part of their fibre. In discussions with swimmers, we have learnt that,
while a swimmer can fail in their crossing attempt, they are never defeated. Their lives are indomitable,
the human spirit is alive, and each of these people has gone on to achieve extraordinary things.
Meeting and interviewing these remarkable athletes has been a privilege. Each individual has the
restlessness of the driven, and a fire burns bright inside them. Their stories ignite a spark, illuminate our
own potential and challenge us to question the impossible. We are confident that at least one story will
strike a chord in every reader. It is my hope that, when this chord is struck, you will be inspired to take
on your own extraordinary challenge too.
About the Authors
Christopher Neesham
Christopher is a keen swimmer, who enjoys the freedom of swimming in the sea: ‘That immense body of
water that triggers a private metamorphosis.’
Out of the water he is a coaching and performance psychologist, who has worked in Australia, Europe
and the United States with executive teams, high-performance coaches and elite athletes. He has a keen
interest in what motivates people, especially ‘you and I’ (non-elite) endurance athletes, to push
themselves beyond normal limits to redefine what is possible.
He, too, has a passion for open-water swimming and has competed in open-water races in Australia and
overseas, including Australia’s iconic Rottnest Channel swim. He also enjoys ‘frontier swimming’, swimming into the unknown, and has completed solo marathon swims in the Aegean, the Black Sea, the
Arabian Sea and the South China Sea. He has swum with many of the swimmers featured in this book.
Tony Burke
Tony reveals all in the story of his Channel endeavour, which is expressed in a chapter of this book. It
was a very brave effort.
Away from open-water swimming, Tony has done much in community sport, as a coach, as a team
manager and on regional boards.
As a lawyer, Tony has made a significant contribution to the profession, culminating in 2008 in a term as
President of Victoria’s Law Society, leading some 18,000 lawyers. Subsequently he served on various
national bodies.
From 2009, for a period of five years, Tony was on the board of Triathlon Victoria, including three years
as President.
Testimonial
Reviews
“Swimming the English Channel is a supreme test Swimmers push themselves beyond all normal limits.
The experience is life changing. Channeling is a warts and all account by swimmers…their stories are an
inspiration”.
“This book explores the adventures, physical and psychological, in fair weather or foul, of swimmers,
young and old, awash in the Channel. It brings it all back to me.”
“I’ve never met a 'world champion' who is a normal person. To get out of bed and do extraordinary
things requires people who are different. They are not part of the norm. The motivation can be wide and
far. But whatever it is, pushing the limits of human endeavour is not for the faint hearted.
Within this marvelous book, we read about people who are different. People who follow their dreams of
‘higher, further, faster’. I often advise people you enter the ocean by invitation only. Facing mother
nature at her best, the ocean is both beautiful but also unforgiving.
We read here about people who have faced their fears, their hopes, their desires. People who are
different"
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