Nothing will stop Wigan swimmer taking on charity challenge in memory of his wife

Antony Birchall began swimming as a child and had always wanted to do the 11-mile swim at Windermere, in the Lake District.

In 2018 he entered the Windermere One Way event - known as the #WOW swim - which attracts hundreds of participants wishing to push themselves to the limit each year.

But sadly his beloved wife Annette died in February that year after a battle with breast cancer and he did not take part.

The 48-year-old decided to register again this year and raise money for The Lilac Centre, in St Helens, and charity Breast Cancer UK in memory of Annette.

Friends went to Windermere with him earlier this month to cheer him on, but unfortunately weather conditions meant it was cancelled.

However, Antony, from Highfield, was not ready to give up and did the swim himself the following week.

“Me being me, I decided to go out with my safety boat and I did it myself,” he said.

“It was tough. What was hard about it was that I had swam Coniston two weeks before as a warm-up swim and I picked up a shoulder injury doing that.

“Leaving two weeks to rest it, I went to Windermere thinking it was going to be great.

“It was a lovely calm day and I started off well, but two miles into the swim it got more choppy because of boating activity in the lake.

“My shoulder went four miles into the swim. I had to grit my teeth, swim through the pain barrier and the last two miles were virtually one-armed to the end.

“I suppose it didn’t compare to what Annette went through in her treatment.

“I was quite happy to finish and go through that cold water and pain barrier.”

It took six hours and 20 minutes for him to complete the swim, starting at Fell Foot Park at the south of Windermere and finishing at Brathay Hall at the north.

Antony believes his wife would have been delighted that he managed to finish the swim at last.

He said: “Annette would be ecstatic. It is something I always wanted to do as a child.

“I swam with Wigan Swimming Club from being young and to swim the longest water in England is nice.”

It was an excellent way to remember his wife of 25 years. Annette was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 and had surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

She responded well and Annette and Antony spent 2017 visiting their favourite places, including New York and Florida.

But she became unwell that Christmas and went to Wigan Infirmary, where she found out the cancer had spread to her liver.

Annette was just 45 when she died 12 days later, in February 2018.

As well as her husband, she was survived by two sons, Louis and Sam, who is a member of Wigan band The Lilacs, named after The Lilac Centre in honour of his mum.

Antony raised £2,172 for Breast Cancer UK and The Lilac Centre, which supported Annette when she was ill.

He said: “One of the things I always wanted to do was give back to Breast Cancer UK and The Lilac Centre in St Helens, which looked after her.”

Swimming was the perfect way to raise money in memory of Annette, as it was something Antony had always enjoyed.

He turned to exercise to help him cope after she died.

Antony, who works in technical sales for Ashton-based excavation equipment firm MGF, said: “Since lockdown I have done 26 outdoor training swims. I have been doing it at Eccleston Delph. That’s been quite good.”

He also started running last year, joining Wigan Harriers’ endurance group and running Chester marathon after just six weeks of training.

Antony has also been cycling and will be combining his three sports when he takes on a massive challenge next year - the Ironman UK triathlon.

It will see him swim 2.4 miles at Pennington Flash, cycle 112 miles and run a marathon, finishing in Bolton town centre.

It will be a huge task, but Antony hopes to raise more money for charities close to his heart by taking part.

He said: “I’m ditching the swimming a touch and going for all three, which is Ironman UK in 2021. It gives me a focus and challenge going forward, so I’m looking forward to it.

“I don’t do things by halves. I always sign up for the extreme.”

Donations to Antony’s appeal can be made at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/coldcapswim.

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