Swim events revived under new management with pledge of ‘world class’ experience

SWIMMING events which were cancelled last year due to low entry numbers are set to return this year under new management.

Provisional dates in the summer have been set for the Henley Classic, the Club to Pub and the Thames Marathon, after UK-based events company krono:sports announced on Monday it had taken over from events organiser, Henley Swim.

The Henley Swim Festival, which had 2,000 participants in 2024, is also set to return but in 2027.

The open-water swimming company, which organised swim events in the Henley stretch of the River Thames, announced last May it had been forced to close and cancelled all events for the year.

This included the Thames Marathon from Henley to Marlow, the Club to Pub swim from Henley Rowing Club to the Angel on the Bridge in Thames Side and the Selkie Henley Classic, which takes place along the Henley Royal Regatta course. The firm, founded in 2004 by rowers Tom Kean and Jeremy Laming, blamed negative publicity about water quality in the River Thames for the “huge” drop in entry numbers which had left it “effectively bankrupt”.

The announcement came as the Environment Agency reported 86 spills from the Henley Sewage Treatment Works, near the Fawley stream, last year for a total duration of 950 hours.

On Monday krono:sports said it is committed to maintaining the “strong brand heritage” and “world-class experience” that has defined the Henley Swim brand for the past 20 years. It also said it would honour all outstanding registrations from the 2025 festival which did not receive refunds. Swimmers will be contacted over the coming weeks.

The Henley Classic is scheduled to return on June 28, with the Club to Pub on July 25 and the Thames Marathon on August 9.