A dad-of-two has become to first person ever to swim across the Bristol Channel using only breaststroke despite suffering with severe hypothermia during the crossing.<br /><br />Phil Warren, 52, has completed three crossings of the Bristol Channel this year, and has become to first person to complete a crossing using only breaststroke.<br /><br />During his most recent crossing from Ilfracombe to Gower, Phil was in the 18-degree water for just under 22 hours and suffered with severe hypothermia which saw him rushed to hospital.<br /><br />Despite the setbacks, Phil completed three of his four planned crossing – with one being cancelled due to poor weather conditions.<br /><br />Now, he has raised over £6300 for mental health charity Mind and says he undertook the gruelling task to help raise awareness about mental ill health.<br /><br />Phil said: “Last year I took on a challenge to try to swim all four routes of the Bristol channel, which range from eight miles up to 24, in one swim season which had never been done.<br /><br />“[I swam] as a breaststroke swimmer - which again I knew had not been tried.<br /><br />“It was to raise funds for Mind and try to raise awareness about mental ill health especially since the pandemic.”<br /><br />The determined dad chose the charity Mind due to his own battles with his mental health which left him suffering from a break down 10 years ago.<br /><br />A couple of years later, Phil began open water swimming and credits the activity with helping to manage his mental health.<br /><br />In 2021, he decided to take on the challenge of swimming all four routes across the Bristol Channel from England to Wales – and decided to swim exclusively using breaststroke.<br /><br />Now, the plucky swimmer has completed his challenges, finishing his final swim on 20 September despite having to miss one planned crossing due to poor weather conditions.
