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Three Irish swimmers among team to relay from Ireland to the Isle of Man

Three Irish swimmers were among a team of six involved in a first-ever relay swim from the Isle o...



Three Irish swimmers among tea...
Golf

Three Irish swimmers among team to relay from Ireland to the Isle of Man

Three Irish swimmers were among a team of six involved in a first-ever relay swim from the Isle of Man to Ireland. 

Olive Conroy, Rory Fitzgerald and Conor Turner were part of the team who completed the race in 18:08:32, setting a world record in their efforts.

Turner, an accomplished ice swimmer, told Newstalk.com about his preparation for the attempt.

"I prepared by training in the pool but did longer sessions, for example, swimming for a full hour straight with no breaks," he said. "I also trained more in the sea than I would have previously.

"During the event, we swam an hour each and then rotated. In total we did three hours each, but because I was the swimmer to reach land I did an extra rotation, which added on about 15 minutes."

He added: "Someone must keep swimming at all times so it was a relay and we just swam beside the previous swimmer and took over from them every hour. It was hardest during the night as it was pitch dark."

The water temperatures averaging around 12°C, Turner says this swim was something different to what he had tried before.

"I've never swam that long before and also there were a number of new challenges like being on a boat for so long as well as suffering sea sickness.

"The water was a lot rougher out at sea than I would be used to closer to the coast at home in Dublin. There was also a lot of jellyfish which wasn't pleasant!"

Alongside a support boat, the team covered 69.7km and Turner says the swim was a welcome break to competing in colder conditions.

"I was looking for a new challenge,and it was something different to focus on as the ice swimming season is over for the warmer months."

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