Four men are taking on a mammoth swimming challenge this weekend in memory of a friend and colleague who took his own life.
The annual Tour de Aky was created seven years ago to fundraise in memory of Mick ‘Aky’ Atkinson, who sadly died in 2018.
The event is aiming to reach the £100,000 milestone when it returns on Saturday (19th July), with around 90 riders set to cycle 106.6 miles in honour of Aky’s collar number, 1066.
But a second, inaugural event is also taking place on the day, with four of Aky’s friends set to hit the cold water of the English Channel for a relay swim from England to France.
The team, proudly calling themselves Swim De Aky, are not professional swimmers and have little open water experience.
But over recent months, they’ve poured countless hours into training, braving cold seas, choppy lakes, and endless laps in the pool.
The team consists of Kev “The Carp” Lacks-Kelly, Nat “Nature Boy” Powlowski, Mark “The Shark” Baber and Dave “The Dolphin” Young, who are fundraising for Andy’s Man Club and Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
Kev told Your Harrogate:
“Each stroke in the Channel will be for Mick. But it’s also for every person who’s fighting silent battles.
“Every penny raised will help give someone else a fighting chance."
The event has been created in collaboration with the Tour de Aky, which is organised annually by Pierre Olesqui.
Kev added:
“The team are nervous, we know this is going to be hard but we're focussing on getting the job done and having a Facetime beer with our mate Pierre and discussing how both events have gone.
“This weekend is truly fantastic as we have amazing people doing difficult things to help people they may never meet.”
Starting from Folkestone Beach (tide and weather permitting), the team will embark on a 21-mile swim across the Channel, which will take an estimated 16-18 hours.
Despite being untrained and inexperienced swimmers, the team is determined to "push through every stroke" in support of two incredible causes.
To contribute to their fundraising campaign, find their GoFundMe page here.
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