Professor Andy Wolf (63) who comes from Wrington, North Somerset, completed what is arguably the world’s most challenging test of physical and mental endurance by battling 15-degree water, strong currents and one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes - not to mention countless jellyfish! 

The renowned Professor, who came to Bristol in 1995 to help build a new Paediatric Cardiac Surgical Unit at Bristol Children’s Hospital, undertook the swim not only raise awareness of the team’s vital work but to raise funds for The Grand Appeal’s 3D Bio-Printing Unit, a new ground-breaking unit which will revolutionise the treatment of children with complex cardiac conditions.

Having raised nearly £19,000, he will now talk about his experience at DoubleTree by Hilton, Cadbury House in Congresbury, North Somerset at a free event on 27 February that will include a mix of video footage and pictures of his swim.

An elite swimmer in his youth, it wasn’t until three years ago that the Professor took up endurance swimming which culminated in a successful relay channel swim in 2017. Having trained hard for that particular challenge, he decided to take it a step further and do the full swim on his own.

Swapping his time between the pool at the award-winning health club at Cadbury House, Clevedon Marine Lake and Brixham Bay to work on his technique and stamina while acclimatising to the cold water, the Professor completed the 21-mile Channel swim on 4 August in an incredible time of 12 hours 42 minutes and was the oldest person to complete the challenge in 2018.

Professor Wolf said: “More people having climbed Mount Everest than swum the English Channel and puts into perspective the enormity of the challenge.

“I’ll be talking about a whole host of things from the physical and mental training, the ‘demons’ I had to overcome to complete the swim and the infamous ‘zone of separation’ which is a notorious part of the channel.

“I’ll also talk about why I did it and outline the cutting-edge technology we’re developing here in Bristol that will enable the cardiac team to make exact copies of baby hearts in order to plan, prepare and practice the optimal procedures before an operation.

“I hope as well that my story will inspire others to set and achieve their own goals and to exercise without boundaries while overcoming their own fears of what is possible.

Jason Eaton, Director at the health club added: “This is truly an amazing and inspirational story so it’s great that Andy is coming back to Cadbury House to talk about his achievement.

“As an endurance athlete, surgeon and club member, I’m sure there will be lots of people interested to hear what he has to say and it’s sure to be a fascinating presentation.

“The commitment and dedication Andy put into this challenge was just phenomenal and we were delighted he was able to use the pool here at the health club to train. We now hope lots of people come and hear Andy speak at this free event.

To register your interest for this free event please visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-professor-who-swam-the-english-channel-tickets-54520586542

The talk is taking place at 7.30pm on Wednesday 27 February at Cadbury House, Frost Hill, Congresbury, BS49 5AD.

To support Professor Wolf please visit his JustGiving page at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/solochannelswim2018

Issued on behalf of theclub at Cadbury House by Laurence Phillips.