London Fields Lido hosts record number of swimmers for Swimathon 2011

London Fields Lido hosts record number of swimmers for Swimathon 2011

Recently voted the most popular outdoor swimming pool in the UK, London Fields Lido hosted a massive 165 swimmers for Swimathon 2011 over the weekend – the highest number of swimmers at a Swimathon event this year.

Making a splash for charity, the swimmers raised money for both Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Swimathon Foundation. More than 580 pools nationwide took part in the Swimathon 2011 challenge - including 40 pools managed by GLL in partnership with 16 London boroughs.

Swimathon President and Olympic gold medallist, Duncan Goodhew, attended a pre-Swimathon launch at London Fields Lido to present the pool with an award for becoming the highest fundraising pool in 2010, with more than £26,000 raised for charity.

Now in its 24th year, over half a million swimmers have taken part in Swimathon, swimming the equivalent of 24 times around the world, raising more than £34 million for charity and funding over 350,000 hours of Marnie Curie nursing time.

Comments Andrew Clarke, GLL's swimming development manager, "Swimathon is a fantastic way to inspire people to become more active and healthy and raise money for charity at the same time. We're delighted to be involved with the programme in our swimming pools, GLL is committed to the development of grass roots swimming – it is a great leisure activity, keeping people safe and improving fitness levels."

Cllr Jonathan McShane, Cabinet Member for Community Services said: “London Fields Lido is the most popular outdoor pool in the UK and it’s great to see so many people coming together to raise money for such a worthy cause. Swimming is an excellent way to keep fit and healthy.”

For non-swimmers wanting to take up the Swimathon challenge next year, GLL has just introduced monthly direct debits to spread the cost of learning to swim.