On Sunday Andrew Ress became the first deaf man to complete a solo swim of the English Channel.
Ress completed the swim in 15 hours and 14 minutes. He encountered difficult winds when he entered French waters and battled jellyfish into the finish. Despite difficulties with communication at the end, Ress successfully completed the swim, which has fewer successes than climbing Mount Everest.
He raised 5,000 Euros for the Great Britain Deaf Swimming team. He also represented the team in the 1990s. The funds raised will help athletes compete at the 2017 Deaflympics, scheduled for July 18-30 in Samsun, Turkey.
Brian Baxter, the chair of Great Britain Deaf Swimming said, “I would like to congratulate Andrew on the fantastic achievement of completing the Channel swim solo, the first British deaf swimmer to do so.”
Read the full story from the BBC here.
Lisa Marsanick Kotch