British comedy actor David Walliams completed an incredible 140-mile swim down the River Thames yesterday. For the previous eight days he had spent as long as 12 hours each day in the water, raising more than £1.1million for the Sport Relief charity.
Walliams (picture above) is famous for his role in sketch show Little Britain which he starred in and wrote with Matt Lucas. However, five years ago, he began his work with Sport Relief when he swam across the English Channel and raised over a million pounds. This year he decided to take on a far bigger challenge.
Epic Challenge
It all started on Monday last week, when he set off from the source of the Thames in Gloucestershire. Swimming over 20 miles a day, he faced not just the daunting prospect of 110,000 strokes (!), but also the currents, temperature and pollution in the Thames. Indeed, on the very first day he suffered symptoms of hyperthermia after spending so long in the 15oC water. This was made far worse on the second day when he contracted ‘Thames Tummy' from swimming in the unclean river. The 40-year-old star explained:
"There was a lot against me at the beginning and the water was a lot colder because the summer was so bad. Being sick was a low point. I lost my mojo but I thought if I try I can keep going."
