Swimming the English Channel

While Olympic champions make history on the other side of The English Channel, there are plenty of sporting achievements being made outside Paris this week. 

The Dorset Full Monties — four women from west Dorset aged between 40 and 60 — have just completed a 25 mile overnight swim from Dover to Audinghen in Normandy.

Jane, Mary, Romla and Emma have been in training for over a year, in all weathers, starting in Weymouth, along Chesil Beach, and in Lyme Regis. They also took part in the Winter Swimming World Championships in Estonia in March, in -4C. They relied on Firepot's meals to keep them warm and refuelled after their training sessions, and kept a selection on the boat as they made their crossing.

The Dover Strait is the busiest stretch of water in the world. Statistically, only 1 in 5 who take on the challenge each year manage to complete it.

Together, the group are raising money for a selection of local charities, including the Weymouth RNLI. You can read more and contribute to their fundraising efforts here.