Banbury mum to take the plunge for ninth consecutive charity swim for next month

Christina Page inherited her love of swimming from her father, Terry Poole, as a child and has now passed on the family love affair with swimming to her two children.

Christina, who works as a research director, has a extra motivation to complete her next charity swim challenge, which will raise money for Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie, as her father is currently being treated for bladder cancer.

Christina, who swims regularly at the Spiceball Leisure Centre near Banbury three times a week, said: ‘Swimming is my connection with my dad, and I will be doing this for him.

"Dad is now undergoing immunotherapy, which also means he now can’t swim while going through his treatment. This year will have special meaning as I take part thinking of my dad and knowing that I am raising money and awareness of cancer research. I’d like to inspire others to get involved, it’s not about being fast but taking part knowing that you can make a difference.

"This has added an extra motivation for me to take part in Swimathon, now I can see the other side of the event first hand given our experience of the work of the NHS and cancer charities in the last year or so."

Christina is set to swim 5k on May 14, which is the equivalent of 200 lengths of the pool, and she is urging others to take part in the world’s largest annual fundraising swim for the two much-loved causes.

The charity Swimathon, which has a variety of distances available, from 400m right up to 30.9k k, will take place in swimming pools across the UK, including at the Bicester Leisure Centre.

Participants can take part individually or as part of a team, and swimmers who can’t make one of the organised sessions can sign up for MySwimathon, which takes place from April 28 until May 21, and choose a time and venue that suit them.

For more information on Swimathon, visit https://www.swimathon.org/