20 years of Henley Swim

A CELEBRATION was held at Bix Manor to mark the 20th anniversary of Henley Swim.

Volunteers and event marshals who help run the four annual mass participation swimming events marked the achievement with drinks and a sitdown meal on Friday evening.

The party was attended by founder and former rower Jeremy Laming, who started Henley Swim in 2004 with his friend and fellow rower Tom Kean.

The pair jumped into the river at 4am to swim the famous Henley Royal Regatta course before the competitors got on the water.

In the years to follow word spread among friends and the pair were joined by more and more people to swim the course on the Sunday morning before the regatta.

By 2008 there was so much interest that the 2.1km upstream swim at dawn became official and nearly 100 swimmers joined in what has now become the Henley Classic event.

Today, about 3,000 swimmers take part in the summer events, which include the Selkie Henley Classic, the Outdoor Swimmer Henley Swim Festival, the Club to Pub and the Thames Marathon.

Mr Laming, who lives in Sonning Common, said: “I can’t believe it has been 20 years. It’s staggering really. It was just something we did on sort of a whim and it turned into something a lot bigger.”

Mr Laming, who now works in cyber security, said Mr Kean initially came up with the idea of jumping in the water.

He said: “I was just switching over to do triathlon and I said, ‘Look, Tom, I’ve not done any open water swimming’.

“Tom’s a swimmer and he suggested we jump in the Thames and give it a go so we did it at four in the morning, just as the sun was starting to come up, and it went from there.

“Now it’s really nice to see other people picking up the mantle, moving it forward and making it into bigger and better events. It was one event to start with and now it’s four and it was two swimmers to start with and now it’s thousands every year.

“These are all people who very kindly give up their time and are involved in running the events. It’s a team operation, so this is just to say a big thank-you.”

Among those in attendance were race marshals Lorraine Beamish, who has been volunteering with Henley Swim for three years, and Naomi Markham and Samantha Vistuer, who have volunteered for the last two years.

The women are all members of the Reading Bluetits Chill Swimmers, an open-water swimming club that began in 2020. Ms Beamish said: “It’s fab because you can do some of the events and volunteer at others, so we’ve all experienced a bit of both.

“I never would have done the half marathon without volunteering at it first. Having volunteered, I was brave enough to do it because I knew how wonderful the safety and everything is.”

Mrs Vistuer said: “I did it the other way around. I swam first and I was so in awe of everyone that sort of looked after us. I thought that was so lovely.

“The safety crew are the most friendly and supportive and then the volunteers are lovely and always willing to listen.

“Club to Pub last year was hideous weather-wise but the volunteers were amazing and the guys on the water were fabulous.

“They were checking as you were going past, asking if you were all right and saying. ‘You’ve only got this bit to do and then you’re back downstream’ and they’re kind of cheering you on.”

Ms Markham was inspired to take part in the half marathon after marshalling the year before.

She said: “Seeing how amazing these swimmers were was just super-inspiring. I was like, ‘I want to do that next year’.”

Gary Hall, chairman of Henley Swim and proprietor of Bix Manor, told the volunteers: “This is all about thanking you for everything you do to make the swim successful.

“I’d like to raise a glass to Tom and Jeremy who 20 years ago started something that will go on and on and on.”

Mr Kean, who could not attend the event due to a prior commitment, said: “When Jez and I first jumped into the Thames way back in 2004, little did we know what we’d started. Twenty years later I can’t believe it is still going. Time really does fly by when you are having fun.

“I’m so proud of what we’ve built and how this event brings together so many friends and families to do something positive.

“With the event’s growth, we’ve built a platform that enables us to partner with charities to raise lots of money and campaign for the health of the river.”