Lake Geneva Relay Swim
(Maillot d’Or)
Inaugural relay swim across the 42.8 mile length of Lake Geneva, from Chateau Chillon in the East to Bains des Paquis in the West
4 Teams, The Largest lake in central Europe and a swimming event not for the feint hearted!
Who will win? Who will raise the most? Which team will come out on top?
Brian’s Battlers
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- Team Name: The Brian Cross Memorial Trust
Fundraising: £10,417
Swimming Skills: Mixed Bag!
Trust previous fundraising: Over £1,000,000
Brain Tumour Champions for: Adult Research
Team SAS
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- Team Name: SUPR Atrato Swimmers
- Fundraising: £5,540
- Swimming Skills: 9/10
Retail knowledge: 10/10- Brain Tumour Champions for: Child Research
Team CRABS
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- Team Name: Cancer Researchers Are Bad Swimmers
- Fundraising: £3,594
- Swimming Skills: Self-confessed bad swimmers
Brain Power: 10/10- Brain Tumour Champions for: Early Diagnosis
Team Moody
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- Team Name: The Lewis Moody Foundation
- Fundraising: £3,154
- Swimming Skills: We’ve got a Paralympian!
Ex-England Rugby Captains: 1- Brain Tumour Champions for: Support
About the Event
Lake Geneva is big. Huge! More people have walked on the moon than swam the full 42.8 mile length of it. Our intrepid relay teams are heroically taking on this epic challenge together with a common goal; to help defeat brain tumours. The inaugural ‘Maillot d’Or’ event brings together two charities, oncology researchers and a corporate team, all with varying swim abilities; some have swam the English Channel, some by their own admission have done ‘a little bit’ of open water swimming and some who proudly hold their school swimming certificate! What matters is these awesome teams are diving straight in, taking on a hugely difficult challenge and with every stroke they are raising awareness and vital funds to double survival rates and halve the harm that brain tumours have on quality of life. Lake Geneva relay swimmers – we salute you!
The inspiration
Inspired to support and raise vital research funds for The Brain Tumour Charity and in memory of his sister, Emma, who died of a brain tumour in 2003, Sir John Royden attempted to be just the 8th person to swim the full 43 mile length of chilly Lake Geneva in July last year. With no wetsuits and no stopping until you reach the finishing shoreline, it is unsurprising that more people have actually walked on the moon than have completed what is known as the ultimate ‘trophy swim’. Although he did not complete the full distance, John did swim for an incredible 22 hours and covered a staggering 28 miles before being pulled from the water by the safety staff on board the support boat.
John’s drive, grit and determination are simply incomparable and astonishingly, less than 24 hours after being pulled from the water, John vowed to return in 2022. “I have been completely overwhelmed by the number of people who have supported my efforts to swim Lake Geneva. I am committed to completing the swim to honour every person and every single penny donated.” As well as raising huge awareness of brain tumours and The Brain Tumour Charity, John and his partner, Sarah have (to date) raised an absolutely fantastic £400,000, making a huge impact on The Brain Tumour Charity’s vital work.
John is our inspiration for The Brain Tumour Charity becoming part of the inaugural ‘Maillot d’Or’ Lake Geneva relay swim through The Lake Geneva Swimming Association. This swim is iconic, beautiful and utterly challenging and our four intrepid teams are all heroes in our eyes.
Interested in taking part in the Maillot d’Or 2023? Get in touch with sally.williams@thebraintumourcharity.org