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I met Stephen in Dover after his swim in 2002 and after many years i stumbled into him via face book so hear is his story
1: Name: Stephen Hunt
2: Age: 28
3: Resides: Sydney
4:Swimming Highlights: English Channel 2002, Gibraltar Strait 2005
5:Biggest influence and coach: Where to begin...? My family are a massive influence and motivator for everything I do. Big kudos to Steve Garner for coaching me in the open water swims. Also Jason Smith for training me in the pool through my teens and Brian Wilkinson for setting me up for the channel. In London, Ali and Frieda (The General) Streeter took care of me like family but trained me harder than I've ever been trained before. I wouldn't have been near prepared without their influence and support.
6:Swimming Idol - James Pittar (AMAZING GUY)!!!
7: Pool or Ocean - Ocean any day.
8: How many kms a week - Between 2km and 70km depending on the training phase (or stage of life).
9: Longest swim and how many hours in the water - English Channel: 53km (we were swept off course and missed the cap), 12 hours 12 minutes.
10:Favorite place you have swam - Rottenest Island
11: Coldest place you have swam and temp - Dover Harbour in February (around 8 degrees from memory)
12: Roughest swim - Byron to Lennox Heads (due to my extreme shark fear in that stretch of water) or Dover Harbour training in force 6 conditions doing a 10 hour swim.
13:Swimming goals - Manhattan Island Swim and Cook Strait
14: What or who motivates you - I swim to raise money for HIV/AIDS charities in memory of my Uncle Bill.
15: How much is Physical/Mental - 10%/90% I've swum over 20km without any training just by refusing to give up. It's all in your head...but it hurts the next day if your body is unconditioned.
16: Favorite saying: Yoda: "Try? There is no try! There is only do or do not!" Doc from Back to the Future "You can do whatever you put your mind to". Anon: "You can go on long after you think you can't!"
17: Biggest fear swimming - Forgetting my passport (the French coastguard had to escort me onto the coast and nearly stopped me finishing the channel)
18: Swimming close calls - My sister reversing a guideboat into me. Prop just missed my head as I ducked the boat.
19: Tips for other swimmers - Never give up. If you never, ever throw in the towel, you'll fight with all that you have in you to keep the record perfect. Break once and you might find it easier and easier to break again.
20: What would you eat and drink during a swim - Maxim on the long ones with plenty of water. I try to get some body fat on before the swims and actually try not to eat too much during the swim so that I convert to fat reserves as early as possible. I find once that happens I get endless energy and the only thing that can stop me is muscle and joint pain....which your mind can ignore.
21: Worst place you have swam - Olympic rowing course in Penrith. Did 20 boring laps of the 2km stretch and got some really bad itches from something in the water.
22: Worst injuries - Stinger down my speedos in the middle of the channel. Rotator cuffs are rather shot but hanging in there.
23: Favorite food,drink,music ,movie and holiday destination.
Food: Sashimi
Drink: Water
Music: So many to choose from....The Beatles (I sing their songs a lot while I swim), Sigur Ros, Diesel, Ray LaMontage, Coldplay...and recently, Mumford and Sons.
Movie: Again....so many....Baraka, Billy Madison, Star Wars IV, V and VI (the new ones suck), Planet Earth Series, Fight Club,
Holiday destination: Cuba, Belize, Honduran Islands and Galapagos.
24: What do you think of when you are in the water for hours - I don't. I tend to sing songs for the first 1 or 2 hours then normally manage to slip into meditation and try to think of nothing.
25: Where is one place you haven’t or would like to swim - Antarctica.
26: Three people you would invite to dinner - Jamie Oliver, Neil Perry and the chef from Tetsuya's.
27: Cold water tips - Get fat. Really fat. Then expose you body to cold as much as you can. Yes, that means no hot showers. Let the fat move where your body needs it. Then you're ready to action. Make sure you have enough to burn if it's a long swim.
28:T oughest competitor - Deke Zimmerman. I handled for him when he won Rotto and again when he swam to Parramatta and back from Manly. The guy is a machine.
29: How much is weight a factor on long distance swims - For me, it's a massive factor (pardon the pun) but that because I have tended to go for the cold. Deke managed his looking like a twig so it's possible either way.
30: Pet hate - Forgetting people's names. I'm a shocker!
31: Biggest thrill - Getting married (awwww......chuck up).
32: Favorite sport besides swimming - Snowboarding.
33: Who would you like to sit next to on a plane - Boutros, Boutros-Ghali (coolest name ever. I'd keep hassling him all flight about what the hell his parents were thinking while basking in the glory of what I regard as the greatest name ever - kind of a paradox). In all seriousness I have a deep affection for the UN and his term as Secretary General was full of controversy so I'd love to chat about it.
34: Car you drive - My wife's (VW Golf)
35: Next swimming challenge - Depends on the shoulders but hopefully Manhattan.
36: Occupation - Strategy Manager.
37: D.O.B. - 28.2.81
38: Favorite Pet - Don't have any but I have a soft spot for dogs. Unfortunately my current living situation can't support any pets. Maybe when the kids come.
39: Reasons for attempting the Channel - Had always wanted to do it. Was my ultimate swimming goal from the age of 12 and the death of my uncle provided the final motivation.
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