The organising team behind the mid-summer dawn swim, The Henley Classic, have confirmed that entries to this sell-out event are now open. The event itself has been confirmed for Sunday 28 June 2015, in its usual spot before the Henley Royal Regatta.
The 2015 event will also host the second running of the Oxford vs Cambridge open water varsity match. The 2014 event was won by Oxford in this unique open water match race.
Next year promises to be another big year for the swim, with a world class field already assembled for the Elite Race. Top elite athletes from across the UK and Europe will battle it out to get their names engraved on the Inman and Ovey cups, which date back to the late 1800s.
The 2014 individual event was won by defending champion, German elite Alexander Studzinski, and the ladies race was won by Beatrix Eisel. This year saw a sell-out number of entrants compete in what was the 11th running of this unique open water swim.
Event co-founder Jeremy Laming said, “We are very proud of the Henley Classic swim and never imagined at the outset that it would become such a popular event. Part of its magic is its quirkiness. No other swim goes off at first-light in mid-summer, and that coupled with the stunning stretch of water is what people love.”
The Henley Classic Swim started in 2004 when two ex-oarsmen, Jeremy Laming & Tom Kean, decided to swim what they had rowed hundreds of times before. The Henley Classic uses exactly the same course as that undertaken by rowers. Wooden booms give swimmers a dead straight course and the chance for spectators to walk alongside, following the action, the whole way.
The Henley Classic is positioned as one of the UK’s ‘must-do’ swims and is listed among the World’s Top Open Water Swims. The 2015 swim takes place on Sunday 28 June at 04.30.
