Divers raise more than £3,500 for the Shark Trust

On Sunday 10 June, 14 brave divers competed in their first triathlon and have so far raised in excess of £3,500 for the Shark Trust.

Four relay teams and two individuals swam, cycled and ran at the Chorlton X Triathlon held in Manchester. Dave Quatermain, from Uberfit Events, agreed to let all 14 competitors enter the event without paying the usual fee, so that all money raised went directly to the marine charity.

Nick completing the run

Nick and Caroline, regular Sport Diver columnists from Frogfish Photography, were overwhelmed at the support the whole team received. Caroline said: “We had a huge group of people cheering us on, which really helps when you are getting tired. Some of the cheerleaders even travelled from abroad with support coming from Amsterdam and Hawaii.

“For all of us, it was the first triathlon we had competed in. Lyndon Saunders and Janet Fischer, who completed all three events as solo competitors trained really hard and it paid off. They got the biggest cheers as they turned the corner to the finish line. The whole group and many of those who showed their support are now planning to do it all again next year!”

Caroline completed the 750m swim wearing a swim float shaped as a shark fin, kindly donated by Dean from Aqualung/Apeks, which raised plenty of interest on the day. The cycle (14km) and run (7.7km) were even more challenging, as the heavy rain all week had caused the track to become very muddy, slippery and very hard going on the uphill climbs. Three of the four relay teams were rewarded by coming in the top 3 places and will receive medals for their efforts too.

Caroline and her fin

So far the group of 14 friends has raised over £3,500 and money is still coming in. Nick said “The event was hard work, especially for those of us that are not as fit as others! But it has all been worth it now we know how much we have raised to help protect my favourite underwater animal. The total amount we have achieved is inspiring and helps to ease the aches and pains.”

Photos by Huw Gill, Jaci Gwilliam and Eevi Kohio

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