Incredible North Yorkshire man becomes first amputee to conquer 'hardest swim in the world' in North Channel challenge
A North Yorkshire swimmer who is no stranger to Harrogate Advertiser readers has become the first disabled swimmer ever to swim the North Channel.
Jonty Warneken hails from Kirk Deighton, became an open water swimmer after fighting back from a dreadful car crash near Ripley in 1994 when he had to have his left leg amputated below the knee.
As reported in national BBC News at the weekend, the remarkable Jonty became the first amputee to swim the North Channel from Northern Ireland to Scotland solo.
Fellow wild swimmer and friend. Jacqui Hargarve, who last year was part of the Great Britain team with Jonty that did brilliantly in the World Ice Swimming Championships, said: “The North Channel is considered to be the hardest swim in the world - more than the English Channel, thanks to the cold, jelly fish, possible orca migration path, currents.
In theory, the distance of the North Channel swim is 21.4 miles.
In practice, however, Jonty’s efforts were hit by currents which pushed him off course and he ended up swimming 33.5 miles.
Both Jonty and Jacqui were in the team of open swimmers which swam the English Channel in 2021.
At the time, the incredible Jonty said that a sizable supply of Fat Rascals from Bettys in Harrogate was one of their main energy sources for the 20-mile swim to France.
His latest challenge helped raise money for Open Country, a charity which supports people with disabilities gaining access to and enjoying the countryside.