Royal Navy veteran completes gruelling 15km charity swim after battling knee injury

Royal Navy veteran Tim “Yorkie” Stout has praised the community after completing a gruelling 15km charity swim in support of the Royal British Legion and cancer charity AECC.

The 61-year-old spent more than 17 hours tackling the challenge, equivalent to around 1,000 lengths, despite suffering a problem with his left knee after completing just six kilometres.

Tim Stout battles through the night to complete 15km charity swimming challenge

Yorkie entered the pool on Calle Albahaca at 8:00 PM on Friday, September 11, beginning an endurance challenge that would continue throughout the night and well into the following day.

He finally climbed out of the water at 1:30 PM on Saturday after completing the full 15km distance.

The challenge became considerably tougher after the six-kilometre point when his left knee stopped working properly.

That left another nine kilometres to complete, with Yorkie effectively swimming using only one leg as he continued towards his target.

“The swim went well even though my left knee stopped working at the 6km point,” he said.

Despite the setback and the long hours in the water, he completed the challenge with the help of safety teams, friends and supporters who remained alongside him.

Royal British Legion and AECC chosen for deeply personal reasons

Yorkie’s decision to raise money for the Royal British Legion and AECC was driven by his own family and military experiences.

His father died from cancer last year, giving the fundraising effort for cancer charity AECC a particularly personal significance.

Supporting the Royal British Legion was also a natural choice following Yorkie’s own 30-year career in the Royal Navy.

He has undertaken charity challenges throughout his adult life, but realised at the age of 61 that swimming was one test he had not yet tackled.

The 15km effort provided an appropriately demanding addition to that history of fundraising challenges.

Friends and neighbours rally around overnight fundraising effort

Yorkie was quick to share the credit for completing the challenge with the people who supported him throughout the swim.

Friends, neighbours and other supporters rallied around the overnight effort, encouraging him through the long hours while helping to raise money for both charities.

He also thanked the safety teams and helpers who supported him as the challenge stretched from Friday evening into Saturday afternoon.

What began as a daunting personal endurance test ultimately became a wider community fundraising effort, with Yorkie’s determination matched by the support of those who helped him reach the end of the 15km swim.