Wild Swimmers of the Year, 2020
WE'RE REALLY EXCITED to announce the shortlist for The Wild Swimming Brothers’ 'Wild Swimmer of the Year, 2020’. After an “unprecedented” year, we've followed some incredible journeys and wanted to compile our shortlist of our favourite swimmers of 2020…
We like to class a wild swim as a swim outdoors in nature, so no outdoor pools or lidos - we'll put that into the subcategory of 'outdoor swimming' (don't you love all these niche little subcategories?). We're also leaving out the big channel, marathon, and open water swimmers as many of them are very well represented by WOWSA. Just check out the year Sarah Thomas and Jaimie Monahan have had for evidence of the insane lengths marathon swimmers can go too. We also wanted to bring to you a fresh list of wild swimmers and as such will not be featuring any of our amazing swimmers nominated in the 2017, 2018 or 2019 list, which you can see here. Every single swimmer from past lists has been blazing a watery trail all year and we continue to follow their journeys, as should you.
Anyway, with no further ado, here's our shortlist for the Wild Swimmers of 2020….
Winnie Poaty
Winnie Poaty possesses easily the most infectious smile in the wild swimming world (or all the world for that matter.) We don’t think we’ve ever seen a swimmer whose facial expressions so clearly convey the sheer joy of swimming outdoors. Winnie is from Congolese heritage and resides in The Lakes District, she’s had quite the year, gracing the cover of Outdoor Swimmer Magazine and also being a powerful proponent of self-care, self-love and mental wellness. Check her out below and also support her independent business - iluvmemost.com
Chris Nikic
Chris Nikic has easily been the most inspirational swimmer of 2020. This year at age 21, he became the first person with Downs syndrome to finish an Ironman triathlon. He crossed the line in 16 hours 46 minutes nine seconds - less than 14 minutes under the official cut-off time at the Visit Panama City Beach Ironman in Florida - to earn official recognition from Guinness World Records.
He is a truly inspirational young man and he shattered barriers while proving without a doubt that anything is possible if you set your mind to it. Now we know many of you might not class an Ironman swim or triathlon swim as ‘wild swimming’ but that’s beside the point, there is no swimmer on the planet who has inspired more people in one of the toughest years in a long time. We challenge you to watch this video of his epic accomplishment without tearing up - here
Dee from the Sea
Dee from the Sea is an Irish Swimmer who promotes wild swimming in all forms as well as a respect for the environment. She’s got rather a few mighty achievements under her belt - the English Channel, Ice 1km and an Ice 1km in Antarctica. She also combines this swimming excellence with a no-nonsense down to earth attitude and is passionate about sharing her knowledge with any swimmer willing to listen. We were lucky enough to swim from Europe to Asia with her in 2018 and can attest to her swimming spirit and enthusiasm. Go check out her blog - here
Alice Dearing
Ok ok, we’re breaking our own rules again by including a ‘pool’ swimmer but hey it’s our list and we want Alice on it. The word inspirational is lobbed around an awful lot these days but were very happy to apply it to Alice. She is on a quest to become the first Black female swimmer to represent Britain at the Olympics. Currently she is one of Great Britain's top female marathon swimmers, having represented Great Britain at numerous international competitions, including three World Championships. She placed 11th in the Mixed 5km Open Water event in Gwangju in 2019, after finishing 17th in the Women's 10km race. She combines a meticulous technical swimming ability with a humble demeanour. She really isn’t aware how inspirational she is and you can read all about her journey and follow her below - here
Grace Kingswell
No other swimmer this year (that we’ve seen) better showcases the benefits of wild swimming than Cornwall based Grace Kingswell . She is practically brimming with helpful advice, useful tips and scientific data on the numerous physical and mental benefits of dipping outdoors. She’s also part of “Influencers R Us” a Cornwall group consisting of her, Sophie Hellyer, Anna Blackwell, Holly Bendall and Leah McHardy who have made us feel incredibly stupid for not living by the ocean in 2020. In addition, she also started the fantastic Five Women - a travel collective focusing on sustainable adventure. As if that wasn’t enough she also introduced us to the world of Red Light and if you are looking for constantly helpful and valuable advice then look no further than the fantastic Grace Kingswell.
Ed Accura
Ed Accura is truly a man of many talents. He is a British songwriter, producer, rapper and host of In The Deep Side podcast, screenwriter and producer of the new documentary feature film "A Film Called Blacks Can't Swim," directed by award-winning filmmaker Mysterex (MO-AM). Ed’s film shattered illusions of equality within the swimming world and showcased that deep prejudices and barriers exist that prevent many black people from learning to swim. We applaud his mission to get more black people and ethnic minorities swimming. He is a vital voice in the aquatic world and you can watch his film - here
Joanna Shimwell
Joanna Shimwell lights up the wild swimming instagram world with absolutely breathtaking photos that capture the raw natural beauty of swimming outdoors. As well as being a fearless all season swimmer she is a top class mountain biker and can also be found on her family farm & campsite @dalefarmphotos. Every single image she shares truly captures the beauty of the natural world and her partner @amazedbylight does a phenomenal job of capturing not only Joanna’s powerful spirit but also the powerful pull of the cold water.
The Dales Dipper
The Dales Dipper (also known as Les Peebles) is what we would call a no-nonsense Wild Swimmer. If you destroyed the internet, sent Instagram to Room 101 and dropped a nuclear bomb on Facebook then Les would still be out there every single day, day in day out, diving into freezing cold water. This year he launched guided wild swimming trips in the Yorkshire Dales. His friendly, relaxed and safe guiding services take wild swimming groups and individuals of all abilities who are looking to explore and experience the gorgeous Yorkshire Dales National Park and its watery delights. We salute Les for his down to earth attitude and love of swimming outdoors. Check him out below;
Bethany Allen
Bethany Allen has a unique way of capturing the ephemeral beauty of wild swimming. The photos that she shares capture an almost nostalgic feeling of halcyon summer days gone by. She also founded Wild Swimming Cornwall alongside Lydia Paleschi and Max Campbell. They encourage people to actively seek out wild places to swim and share their knowledge of Cornwallian swim spots. For them, an outdoor swimming experience where you are surrounded by nature and exposed to the elements counts as a wild swim. We love their welcoming and all-encompassing attitude to swimming outdoors. There is no pretence, no narcissism of small differences and she is a wild swimmer who welcomes all. We applaud her attitude and urge you to follow her wild swimming adventures.
Fenwick Ridley
Fenwick Ridley is the kind of man who knocks out Ice Kms for breakfast without even breaking into a slight shiver. Just read this extract;
“2.5°c sometimes its nice to express through just facial expressions 🤣 this is the fwaaa look.
Come on winter you can do better than that sprinkle of ❄ haha. 1.2k swim done.”
Yep, 1.2km at 2.5°c without even flinching. Fenwick is the Crocodile Dundee of the wild swimming world and showcases the adventurous side of swimming outdoors. He is constantly innovating and coming up with exciting and unique ways to immerse himself in the joy of wild swimming. Go and follow his adventures we guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
The Wild Swimming Mother
You can’t put your own mum on a list! That’s sacrilege they said! Favourtism! Nepotism! Well again its our list so mums going on! Tina Wild, also known as the ‘Wild Swimming Mother” is not only part of the inspiration for our name (alongside our mighty Grandma Wild) but the main reason all three of us share a love of the outdoors and a thirst for adventure. Over the last 5 years, she has gone from joining us on our 2015 Swim the Eden expedition for her first proper outdoor swim in years to now smashing out 25-minute sub 5 degree swims without even shivering. She’s now done 3 seasons of swimming outdoors every week of the year and is the founder of her local swim group the SouWesters. Go and follow our mum, The Wild Swimming Mother, below;
All of You!
Again, we thought this one might be seen as a bit of a cute/cop-out way to finish the list, but it really is true... Every single one of you who shook off your normal routine, escaped the agoraphobia of lockdown and got outside for a swim, deserves a place on this list. We absolutely love wild swimming and it's been inspiring and humbling to share the waterways with all of our aquatic brothers and sisters this year.
Here's to plenty more wild swims to come as we dive on into 2021…