Following hot on the heels of comedian David Walliams, Cambridge University Swimming Club won the Varsity Cross-Channel Relay on Saturday 8 July.

The six member mixed team landed on the beach at Cap Gris Nez at 7.20pm, beating the Oxford team by 28 minutes. They had left Shakespeare Cliff beach on the Dover waterfront at 9am that morning.

Under the race rules, members take it in turns to swim alongside the support boat for an hour at a time, rotating in order until the swim is completed.

Despite increasing swell the Cambridge swimmers had established a good lead at the end of two hours and were well within reach of a four-man Royal Marines team who had started an hour earlier.

Conditions worsened considerably with swimmers having to cope with four foot waves and those in the support boat suffering sea-sickness as well as the effects of the cold water and physical tiredness.

The official winning time was 10 hours and 22 minutes. The six swimmers were Ben Yeoh (reading Law at Selwyn College), Brett McLean (reading mathematics at Emmanuel College), Vanessa Beary (a post graduate studying Education at Selwyn College), Vanessa Ying (reading Law at Sidney Sussex College) and Haukar Heimisson (studying Engineering at at Gonville and Caius College).


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