Name:           Lorraine Copeland

Age:              27

Lives:            Kingston-upon-Thames

Status:          Single, no kids

Occupation:   Employee Communications, for Equant

Training:

I’ve been training for my channel swim since November 2003. I swim at my local health club and in the sea at Brighton. Training includes energy ‘feeds’ every 30 minutes.

Swim background:

I learnt to swim when I was 5 years old, I remember seeing Duncan Goodhew on the television and saying to my mum that I wanted to learn to swim. I learnt to swim by the instructor (Peter) gradually reducing the air in my arm bands, until I was swimming with flat armbands! As with most children after achieving my distance badges I went on to personal lifesaving skills and then school swimming. I joined Woodside and Thornton Heath Swimming Club where I developed my competitive swim edge and swam for Surrey Schools and the club, I also continued with lifesaving, gaining a bronze medallion at aged 14, and further poolside qualification at 16, working part time as a lifeguard at an indoors water theme park until I went to University. Up until last May, I hadn’t ‘trained’ properly for a few years, and decided to get back on track and soon felt back at home in the water. In November 2003, I decided that I was going to fulfil what has been a life long ambition, to swim the English Channel.

Find out why I'm swimming the English Channel:

Am I mad?

Quite possibly! As a child I had no idea what mental and physical commitment was involved and I must be mad to be in the know and still wish to fulfil a life long ambition!