A dad-of-two has become to first person ever to swim across the Bristol Channel using only breaststroke despite suffering with severe hypothermia during the crossing.
Phil Warren, 52, has completed three crossings of the Bristol Channel this year, and has become to first person to complete a crossing using only breaststroke.
During his most recent crossing from Ilfracombe to Gower, Phil was in the 18-degree water for just under 22 hours and suffered with severe hypothermia which saw him rushed to hospital.
Despite the setbacks, Phil completed three of his four planned crossing – with one being cancelled due to poor weather conditions.
Now, he has raised over £6300 for mental health charity Mind and says he undertook the gruelling task to help raise awareness about mental ill health.
Phil said: “Last year I took on a challenge to try to swim all four routes of the Bristol channel, which range from eight miles up to 24, in one swim season which had never been done.
“[I swam] as a breaststroke swimmer - which again I knew had not been tried.
“It was to raise funds for Mind and try to raise awareness about mental ill health especially since the pandemic.”
The determined dad chose the charity Mind due to his own battles with his mental health which left him suffering from a break down 10 years ago.
A couple of years later, Phil began open water swimming and credits the activity with helping to manage his mental health.
In 2021, he decided to take on the challenge of swimming all four routes across the Bristol Channel from England to Wales – and decided to swim exclusively using breaststroke.
Now, the plucky swimmer has completed his challenges, finishing his final swim on 20 September despite having to miss one planned crossing due to poor weather conditions.
