Ten year old Gisele Chetwynd entered the 1km Single Crossing at Swim the Bridge on Sunday, completing the entry form with her inspirational story, “I’ve grown up watching my dad doing oceans swims around New Zealand and other parts of the world, like swimming from Alcatraz in San Francisco. I just turned 10 in December 2020 so I asked my dad if he would swim with me under the bridge. I’ve never done anything like this before so I’m pretty nervous but can’t wait to give it a try”.
We think that is VERY cool, so were at the finish to meet her as she completed her very first open water challenge.
Video to come…
As a surfing family, Gisele and her younger brother go to swim lessons once a week out of duty knowing that if they can swim, they can surf!
Being involved in her father’s swim adventures all her life, Gisele thinks it’s a completely normal thing to do.
In December she started to train at Cheltenham beach with her Dad, and as her endurance increased, she was rewarded with her own wetsuit.
Over the past months she has become good enough to swim with the Devonport Swim Club and trains twice a week with them.
What makes Gisele’s story stand out is that most kids are already club swimmers before they embark on distance events in the sea…rarely does the passion swing in reverse!
Well done Gisele!
