A History of Marathon Swimming in London

Long before our intrepid marathon swimmers took on the Marathon 10k, Half Marathon 5k and 1k Challenge at the London Aquatics Centre, on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park - marathon swimming in London was a sport that captured the public's attention.

The Thames was the venue and thousands would gather to watch extraordinary feats by legends such as Captain Matthew Webb, Annette Kellerman, Mercedes Gleitz, David Williams and Lewis Pugh, even Lord Byron and Benjamin Franklyn were known to take part in marathon swims in the Thames.

So for an amazing journey through marathon swimming in the Thames, checkout this fantastic article by Elaine K. Howley from our partners' Outdoor Swimmer Magazine...

Our favourite line in the whole piece is, "In the late 19th Century marathon swimming was a glamorous sport".