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By John Ensor • Published: 27 Jul 2023 • 21:18 • 2 minutes read
Patrik Kvikant. Credit: Patrik Kvikant/Facebook.com
A man has undertaken a mammoth swim to raise money so that underprivileged children can get swimming lessons.
Fifty-four-year-old Patrik Kvikant has raised thousands of euros after he swam from Tallinn, Estonia, across the Gulf of Finland before he arrived nearly three days later on the shore of Helsinki’s Eira district at 10:00 pm on Tuesday, July 25, writes yle.
Kvikant took nearly three days to cover the 90 km journey and raised €10,000 for his efforts, which will go towards underprivileged children’s swimming lessons.
Once Kvikant got his breath back he commented: ‘I’m very happy I reached the finish line and am looking forward to a shower and sauna.’
Speaking about the marathon swim he talked about the water temperatures which fluctuated between 12 to 14 degrees: ‘It is unpleasant to be freezing all the time and feel how your body is gradually breaking down.’
‘There was never a moment when I could enjoy a bit of tailwind. It would have been nice to enjoy that. There was a westerly wind, which caused big waves and made the swim extra exciting.’
He also mentioned that the experience had been an education: ‘I realised that people can do anything if they have to. Even though it was hard, I never thought I’d give up.’
His support team followed him in a fishing trawler, where he was able to rest along the way. He confided that he only slept around six hours over the three days experience, and according to Kvikant, he burned as many calories during the three-day swim as an adult male does over two weeks.
It was reported that during the Covid crisis, schools suspended swimming classes and children’s swimming skills declined as a result.
Speaking of his motivation for the swim he said: ‘The swimming skills of children have gone in the wrong direction in recent years. I want to raise money so less well-to-do families can afford to send their children to swimming lessons. Swimming skills should not be a matter of money.’
The money raised will be donated to the Finnish Swimming Teaching and Lifesaving Federation. ‘We only have permission to collect €10,000. Now we need to cut through the red tape so we can raise more money,’ Kvikant said.
Incredibly, Kvikant only started swimming as an adult, and he took inspiration from his son, Gustav Kvikant.
Last year, Gustav raised money for the protection of the Baltic Sea when he swam between Stockholm, Sweden and Helsinki.
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Originally from Doncaster, Yorkshire, John now lives in Galicia, Northern Spain with his wife Nina. He is passionate about news, music, cycling and animals.
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