Louis Alexander | The Oldest Swim in History

One of our Life Athletes, Louis Alexander, 22, from London, has dedicated his life to raising money for dementia research after his grandfather died after a 17-year-long fight against the disease.

Now, the multi-sport athlete will take on what is said to be the oldest swimming challenge ever known, crossing the Hellespont, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

“This year I have completed four adventures across four different disciplines, from running 17 marathons in 17 consecutive days to rowing the English Channel, but completing the oldest swim in history earlier this week was simply phenomenal. Having the opportunity to recreate Lord Byron’s infamous swim centuries later was a great tip of the hat to him and all the adventurers who have paved the way.”

What is the oldest swim in history?

Romantic poet Lord Byron famously swam the strait between the continents in north-west Turkey in 1810 in homage to the classical Greek myth of Hero and Leander.

Louis mentioned, “It’s considered by many to be the epitome of ocean swimming because it’s the oldest swim in history. What’s even more special is that Lord Byron was 22 years old when he did the swim, which is the same age I will be during the swim.”

He said it would be “quite special” for him to complete the four-and-a-half kilometre swim (2.8 miles), as Lord Byron did more than 200 years before him.

Raising money for Alzheimer’s Research

So far, the adventurer has raised more than £25,000 for Alzheimer’s Research UK.

He said: “I’ll be swimming for them and in honour of my grandfather, an adventurer and explorer himself, who sadly lost his life to dementia. He served in the British Army for 38 years and he had been all over the world. He was very much an adventurer and explorer in his own right.”

For the swim, Mr Alexander is accompanied by Ben Schrevel, 28, who also lost his grandfather to dementia.

It is their first swimming challenge.

For his following challenges, Mr Alexander plans to climb the highest mountain in northern Africa and run from London to Paris.

He said: “At my grandad’s funeral, I promised I would fight for a cure and only stop when we found it.”

“None of these challenges this year would be possible without the support of The Body Lab in London, from training to recovery, the club has been a pivotal component to everything I have done and continue to do. Thank you to all the team for their support, I am so grateful. ”