Performance of the Week: Andrew Ress’s Channel Crossing

Photo Courtesy: NASA, wikiCommons

This week’s Performance of the Week goes to 48 year old Andrew Ress, who last Sunday became the first deaf man to successfully swim the English Channel solo. Completing the swim in 15 hours and 14 minutes, Ress battled strong winds and jellyfish throughout his swim, including difficult communicating as night began to fall at the end of his swim. Hitting the shore shortly before midnight, Ress was accompanied by two support boats and a relay team that hit shore after his completion of the swim.

Notably, Ress’ swim raised 6,000 pounds for the Great Britain Deaf Swimming team, which will be put towards funding athletes participation in the 2017 Deaflympics which is currently scheduled for July 18-30 in Samsun, Turkey. Congratulating the 48 year old following his swim, the chair of Great Britain Deaf Swimming, Brian Baxter, praised Ress on becoming the first deaf swimmer to cross the Channel and for serving as an inspiration for deaf athletes everywhere: “This is a monumental coup, both on a personal level and especially for deaf and hard-of-hearing swimmers…The money he has raised will help our Deaflympic swimmers immensely, and his swim will also serve as an inspiration to them all.” You can read more about his swim here.

Congratulations Andrew Ress on earning Swimming World’s Performance of the Week!

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