Wharenui club complete 40 hour swimathon

Wharenui Swim Club put their own spin on this year’s 40 Hour Famine which took place over the weekend.

Starting at 4pm on Friday night 42 swimmers from the club took part in a 40 hour swimathon.

With swimmers getting a maximum of six hours sleep over the 40 hours the group managed to clock up more than 700km by 8am Sunday morning.

Their efforts have raised more than $5,100 for this year’s World Vision campaign, which aims to raise funds for vulnerable children in Bangladesh.

The group were also visited by two of World Vision’s 40 Hour Famine celebrity teams.

Shortland Street stars Lucy Elliot and Grace Palmer (Blue Team), The Edge’s Marty and Steph (Yellow Team) and Adam Percival from The 430 Show stopped by on Saturday night to encourage and congratulate swimmers on their efforts.

Wharenui club member William Campbell said the whole weekend was a great success and a fantastic club bonding experience.

“I loved every minute of it. It was amazing to see the whole team supporting each other.

“The Saturday night was the hardest; most people would wake up, swim, and then just fall asleep on the side of the pool!

“It was awesome meeting Steph and Marty from The Edge, Adam from The 430 Show and Lucy and Grace from Shortland Street.

“They gave us a little bit of excitement to counter the tiredness we all felt, and gave us the determination to finish the famine.”

Campbell said the idea all grew from a couple of the club’s senior swimmers who wanted to take part in the 40 hour famine and when deciding what they would do thought they would stick to what they know – swimming.