Former Olympic Swimmer Mark Foster Highlights Swimming as a Means to Combat Modern Stress

Former Olympic swimmer and six-time world champion Mark Foster has advocated for increased participation in swimming, suggesting it can assist individuals in managing the pressures of contemporary existence. He conveyed to BBC Essex that the world is “going quickly” and that swimming offers an opportunity to “take yourself away from it.” Victoria Polley, the radio station’s sports editor, and Rob Jelly from BBC Upload are among the BBC staff members who are each aiming to swim 24 miles (nearly 40km) this week to raise funds for Children in Need. Foster, who serves as an ambassador for Children in Need, is providing support for The Thousand Mile Challenge, an initiative involving teams from BBC local radio stations across the UK. Foster’s distinguished career includes six world championship titles, two Commonwealth Games gold medals, and 11 European titles. Now working as a pundit and presenter, he informed BBC Essex’s Breakfast Show that swimming is a distinctive sport because “it is just you and the water.” He elaborated, “When people are at the gym or go for a run, they are always tapped into something.” Foster added, “Nowadays, everybody is just overloaded with stuff, whether it is emails, social media or calls.” He concluded, “It is really important to unplug yourself and take yourself away from it – whatever it is – and that is the beauty of swimming.” As part of The Thousand Mile Challenge, each team member is committed to swimming 24 miles between Monday, 4 November, and Friday, 8 November. In a standard 25m pool, covering 24 miles requires completing 1,545 lengths. The Essex team also comprises Breakfast producer Lois Worrow, sports journalist James Patient, and news editor Claire Sawyer. Foster noted the significant diversity in age and sex among the people he has observed swimming in his native Essex. He expressed, “I find it really inspiring and really good that there are people unplugging themselves from the way the world is moving – and it is going very quickly.” Foster offered a piece of advice: “If I had advice for anybody it would be, ‘Put your phone down more often’.” For updates on Essex news, follow BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.