Hundreds join Jane’s charity swim

Billed as the Yorkshire Swimming Festival, the charity swimming event took place yesterday at Pugneys Country Park.

Among an estimated 1,000 swimmers was Mr Tomlinson, whose late wife Jane, herself a keen swimmer, inspired the charity swim event.

Joining Mike in the water was BBC Look North presenter Tanya Arnold and Olympic athlete Tracey Morris.

Ms Arnold completed the 500m swim in 17 minutes and 22 seconds and distance runner Ms Morris, from Leeds, completed her 1,500m swim in 28 minutes and 35 seconds.

After taking part in the 500m swim, Mike, who confessed to being a poor swimmer, described the event as a relaxing day out for all the family.

He said: “Of all the events we’ve done so far, this one has been particularly special.

“The atmosphere at Pugneys was incredibly relaxed with lots of families enjoying Sunday morning picnics and barbecues. Feedback from all swimmers has been extremely positive and we are already looking forward to the 2012 event.”

The event comprised an open 500m swim, a 1,500m swim and a 500m junior swim for 12- to 17-year-olds.

The 1500m swim was won by Kyran Parker, who completed it in 20 minutes and eight seconds. Alex Smethurst was second in 20:38 and Sophie Cowie third with 21:21.

The open 500m was led by Paul Clemence (6:45), followed by James Cochrane in 9:15 and Whitley Griffith was in third place with a time of 11:12.

The junior 500m swim was jointly won by Charlotte Regan and Jennie Knowles, who both crossed the finishing line in seven minutes and seven seconds. Third place in the junior 500m was taken by Leah Bramall with 7:43.

All profits from the swim go to the Jane Tomlinson Appeal, which was set up by Mrs Tomlinson to help children’s and cancer charities. The Appeal’s target is £5m.

Other charities fielded their own sponsored swimmers, including Diabetes UK, Yorkshire Cancer Research, Scope, RNLI and Wakefield Hospice.