Henley man oldest Brit to swim Strait of Bonifacío

Nigel Downing, 71, completed the swimming challenge in aid of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), the world’s largest humanitarian airline, at the end of last month.

The Henley business co-founder swam the southern coast of Corsica and northern Sardinia within four hours 25 minutes along with a group of 15 others who swam in four groups.

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Nigel Downing becomes oldest Brit at 71 to swim the Strait of Bonifacío (Image: n/a)

The Bonifacío crossing has been described as ‘one of the greatest challenges for open water swimmers in recent years’ by event organisers Neda el Món and varies between 13km and 15km depending on the current and chosen route.

Mr Downing’s course officially totalled 13.9km but could have been as much as 15.3km due to challenging weather conditions and strong seas.

Grouped in a swimming pod with three others, Mr Downing was moved to tears by a rainbow which framed the start of the course.

 “The sun lit up Cabo Pertusato and out burst a magnificent rainbow,” he said. “It was a visual demonstration of God’s promise and a real reassurance that all would be well -  I burst into tears.

“I had my doubts at times about whether I would even finish – and I personally had a very challenging swim.

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“I had felt so nervous before setting out – I just wanted to complete the distance and make sure all my supporters got their pennies worth.

“The pressure was intense – but the rainbow was a great reminder which spurred me on.”

Finally completing the challenge in under five hours – which was his initial target – Mr Downing was exhausted and relieved.

He said: “It is a wonderful feeling knowing it’s completed. When we finally came into Sardinia I could have wept with joy.

Picture by Neda El Mon/Nigel Downing (Image: n/a)

“Every one of us finished the challenge, and I feel incredibly proud for all the swimmers. It was an absolute honour to swim for such an amazing charity – and I’m deeply grateful for all the incredible support which has come my way.”

Mr Downing’s training began early this year starting in a Henley swimming pool and progressing to the River Thames.

This was the longest distance Mr Downing has swum since completing the 18km Strait of Gibraltar in 2015 in four hours 36 minutes – where he raised £5,500 for MAF and became the oldest Briton to complete the challenge at the age of 64.

Now back in Henley, the former GB Olympic Triathlete admits he will be taking a break from swimming for a while.

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“I’d never thought about swimming for charity,” he concluded. “Then I found MAF. It’s a charity I am now very proud to support.”

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This story was written by Gee Harland. She joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Wallingford, Wantage and Didcot.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland

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