Judy Allen-Graham

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Our next guest is new to the sport of swimming and only recently became a full member of Black-Ice. It will be interesting to follow her progress over the next few years as her goal is to swim the English Channel Solo.


1: Name: Judy Allen-Graham

2: Age: 26

3: Resides: Elwood

4: Swimming Highlights: 2km Cole classic, Sydney 2011. The first of hopefully many open water swims.

5: Biggest influence and coach: Aqua dad!

6: Swimming Idol: I don’t really have one, I look up to everyone out there.

7: Pool or Ocean: Used to be pool, but that was before I met the ocean.

8:How many kms a week: 5-10km at the moment. More when my legs don’t want to run.

9: Longest swim and how many hours in the water: Longest is 6km in the pool, I am yet to spent more than 1.5hrs in the cold water.

10: Favorite place you have swam: Sydney.

11: Coldest place you have swam and temp: I’m predicting Port Phillip Bay in the next few weeks.

12: Roughest swim: It has been choppy out in the bay but I doubt I’ve seen the worst.

13: Swimming goals: Perth to Rottenest in a relay team and Bloody Big Swim solo, 2012.

14: What or who motivates you: The satisfaction of doing something great.

15: How much is Physical/Mental: I think it they both play a big part. You’ve got to be mental to get to the physical though.

16: Favorite saying: If it were easy everyone would do it. And, you don’t stop running because you get old; you get old because you stop running (I think this applies to swimming as well).

17: Biggest fear swimming: Large boats.

18: Swimming close calls: Does getting tangled in a fishing line count? I have been lucky so far.

19: Tips for other swimmers: Keep swimming.

20:What would you eat and drink during a swim: Water. Haven’t swum far enough to need food but I’ll eat a big breakfast if I know I am going out for hours. Bananas, even at $13/kg I will always eat bananas.

21: Worst place you have swam: Off the baths after the sewage dump in the bay. Apparently it wasn’t safe to swim.

22: Worst injuries: Broken collarbone (riding accident) in 2009, I couldn’t swim for 3 months.

23: Favorite food,drink,music ,movie and holiday destination.

Food: Hard to go past a good steak, dark chocolate.
Drink: Red wine.
Music: Depends on the mood.
Movie: Any 90’s action, with my brother beside me on the couch.
Holiday destination: Paris.

24: What do you think of when you are in the water for hours: Same thing I think of when I run. How good it is to escape everyday life, how beautiful the world around me is, how lucky I am. And sometimes how much I just want to get this over and done with so that I can feel good at the end! Sometimes I think about nothing at all, that’s nice too.

25: Where is one place you haven’t or would like to swim: The English Channel.

26: Three people you would invite to dinner: My mum, my (late) aunt Tricia, and my cousin Esther. I think we’d have a good laugh.

27: Cold water tips: Suck it up and just jump in!

28: Toughest competitor: Myself.

29: How much is weight a factor on long distance swims: We’ll see, I’ve been told to fatten up and I don’t mind ice cream so it might not be a problem when the time comes.

30: Pet hate: Being late.

31: Biggest thrill: Running my PB in the Paris marathon was pretty awesome.

32: Favorite sport besides swimming: Running.

33: Who would you like to sit next to on a plane: Patrick Bateman.

34: Car you drive: I don’t. I ride.

35: Next swimming challenge: To make it through my first winter. And it looks like it’s going to be a cold one.

36: Occupation: PhD student, because my physical challenges aren’t enough.

37: D.O.B: 07/06/1985

38: Favorite Pet: Daisy the black lab.

39: Reasons for attempting the Channel: I met a crazy guy who totally inspired me!

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