Jersey swimmer wins gruelling Zurich race

AN ISLAND swimmer was back in the water yesterday barely 48 hours after completing a marathon race in Switzerland.

In the latest endurance challenge of a swimming CV stretching back almost two decades, Alice Harvey unfurled the Jersey flag after finishing as the fastest woman in the open, non-wetsuit, category of the annual Lake Zürich race.

After setting off from the town of Rapperswil at 7am on Sunday, Ms Harvey reached the city of Zürich, at the opposite end of the 26 kilometre lake, in a time of nine hours 21 minutes.

She was cheered on from her support boat and greeted at the finish by fellow Islander and renowned long distance swimmer Sally Minty-Gravett, with the pair having been part of a six-woman Jersey team who swam the 70km length of Lake Geneva last September.

Ms Harvey, who works for the Infrastructure and Environment Department and was sponsored by Island business Design Dimensions, said conditions had been almost ideal on race-day.

“We arrived on Friday and on Saturday it rained all day and there was a strong breeze, but on Sunday it was almost perfect after a little bit of drizzle in the morning,” she said.

“I hadn’t done much fresh water swimming in the build-up, and it’s a bit different to the sea in that you aren’t as buoyant, so I was pleased with how I went.

“The toughest time was probably about five or six hours in when I seemed to get a few aches and pains, but I knew I was over halfway and got lots of encouragement from the support boat, especially Sally – she taught me to swim when I was younger, so it was great she was able to come on the trip.”

After a pre-race diet she described as “80% pasta and 20% chocolate”, the former JCG pupil was fuelled by carbohydrate drinks, electrolytes and peaches while she was in the water, and was pleasantly surprised when she discovered her ranking after coming ashore.

“I knew some of the others involved, but it’s hard to compare times from different swims and really I was just focusing on my own swim and trying to get the best possible time,” she said.

On arrival back in Jersey on Monday, Ms Harvey was greeted by her parents Marion and Paul, and yesterday she met fellow members of the Jersey Long Distance Swimming Club for the regular Tuesday club swim.

“My shoulders are a bit stiff, but it’ll be good to see people and get in the sea briefly to loosen up,” she said.

Plans are being discussed for her next big swim, Ms Harvey added, although the details remain a case of “watch this space” for the time being.