Entries are open for this year’s Great North Swim – and hundreds of amateur swimmers from across the region have already signed up to take part.
The event, run by the North-East sports firm behind the Great North Run, is held in the Lake District every year.
More than 6,000 people took part in the open water challenge last year, following the inaugural race in 2008.
The event features Olympic champions, club swimmers, and charity fundraisers, who line up together on the banks of Lake Windermere, England’s largest lake.
Only 1,000 places are left for this year’s event.
Colin Hill, project manager for organiser Nova International, described the race, sponsored by British Gas, as an “iconic swim in the sporting calendar”.
The event takes place over the weekend of September 4 and 5, with entries already full for Saturday, and organisers have warned that places could even run out before the New Year.
Mr Hill said he hoped the success of the event would give Cumbria a boost following the recent floods.
Colin Hill, project manager for Great Swim, said: “The British Gas Great North Swim has attracted swimmers from all around the country and is a big positive for Cumbria in the wake of the recent floods.”
Last year’s event featured some of the world’s top swimmers, including North-East Olympian Jo Jackson, from Richmond, North Yorkshire.
Great Swim is open to swimmers of all abilities aged 16 years and over. Entry is £35, including entry fee, an event pack containing Great Swim swim hat and timing chip), souvenir medal and T-shirt.
Entries can be made online at greatswim.org
