(CMR) British swimmer Oly Rush is on his way to completing a historic swim around Grand Cayman to raise awareness about plastic pollution and to raise funds for Plastic Free Cayman.
Rush, the founder of Project Planet, started at 5 am on Monday, 16 May, and is attempting to break a world record.
He has been swimming nonstop for over 24 hours and is being supported by his friend Jenni Wardman, who hopes to kayak by his side for as much of his journey as possible.
“It is risky, but hey, life is risky! To achieve anything worthwhile there is a risk of failure, just getting to the start line is a huge success. The support and dedication from everyone has blown me away,” Rush said in a Facebook post.
Rush has reportedly been training and participating in extreme endurance swimming events over the last five years; however, the swim around Grand Cayman is the biggest so far.
“We are so grateful for the incredible team of volunteers who have come together to support me on this swim. This is the biggest and most challenging swim so far, and we wouldn’t be in this position without our amazing sponsors either,” he told 80 Degrees Cayman.
Wardman told 80 Degrees Cayman, “It is about all of us, coming together for the health of our environment. The governments of the world should be watching: this is what one person is prepared to put his body and mind through to get the message across.”
“He knows it’s not about him, it’s not about any of us, it’s about the planet we live on as she burns and turns to ashes in front of our eyes. It’s time to wake up,” she added.
Funds raised will be used to hire a member of staff for Plastic Free Cayman, which has run for nearly five years on only the power of volunteers coming together for the good of the environment.
Persons can donate via Go Fund Me https://gofund.me/c2ef0b60
Follow Oly Rush's journey at: https://projectplanet.earth/live-tracker/
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