Oliver Wilkinson

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1: Name: Oliver Wilkinson

2: Age: 36

3: Resides: Cheltenham, UK, 11 months. Melbourne, Aus, 1 months.

4: Swimming Highlights: English Channel 2009, 2-Way Windermere 2009, coming 2nd in Rottnest Channel in 2011, winning the Bloody Big Swim in 2011 and setting a World Record for the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in Sep 2011.

5: Biggest influence and coach: Totally inspired by other amateur long distance swimmers and athletes. My wife is one of my greatest inspirations, a full time teacher and long distance triathlete who has competed as an elite triathlete. Often training more than 20 hours a week while working full time. She often gives me training advice, some of which I listen to.

6:Swimming Idol: Des Renford, Penny Palfry

7: Pool or Ocean: In UK the pool, in Australia the ocean.

8:How many kms a week: about 45-60km a week in preparation for marathon swims.

9: Longest swim and how many hours in the water: longest distance = 45km (MIMS), longest time = 11hrs in the English Channel.

10: Favorite place you have swam: always love swimming in the Melbourne bay. Soft spot for the North Sydney pool under the harbour bridge and Hawaii waters.

11: Coldest place you have swam and temp: 6 degrees - a small lake in England in December, I don't recommend it, took a long time to get the feeling back in my fingers.

12: Roughest swim: Did the swim leg of a triathlon once where I swam through sizeable breakers only to look back and realise the rest of the field had been washed back onto the beach.

13: Swimming goals: Catalina Channel, hopefully 2013, Molokai Channel 2012.

14: What or who motivates you: I just enjoy doing new swims and winning races, I would love to get the triple crown (Catalina to go) and trying to keep up with my wife's achievements.

15: How much is Physical/Mental: Technique 10%, fitness 10%, cold water acclimatisation/training 20%, nutrition 15%, mental fortitude 45%, country of birth 3%, star sign 2%, religious belief 6.5%, number of nights slept under full moon 1.35%, tax bracket 3.1415%................alright it's 10% physical, 90% mental.

16: Favorite saying: Never save anything for the swim back......................unless you are doing a double channel crossing.

17: Biggest fear swimming: Jet skis and propellers.

18:Swimming close calls: I swam over a hammerhead during Rotto in 2011, he didn't seem very interested in me though.

19:Tips for other swimmers: long distance swimming is about efficiency as much as fitness. An efficient technique is critical for saving energy and moving quickly through the water. It's worth spending time getting your technique right rather than just flogging yourself trying to get fit with a poor, inefficient stroke.

20: What would you eat and drink during a swim: energy drinks and energy gels, can't stomach much else.

21: Worst place you have swam: Public swimming at the Cheltenham Leisure Centre - don't get me started and the River Thames!

22:Worst injuries: ruptured appendix - does that count?

23: Favorite food,drink,music ,movie and holiday destination
Food: home made mushroom risotto, soy decadent ice cream
Drink: fizzy and ginger.........Veuve Clicquot is quite nice too
Music: at the moment - Jack Johnson, Pete Murray, John Mayer, Eric Satie
Movie: Philadelphia, Life is Beautiful, Cyrano De Begerac.....(I like a good tragedy!)Holiday destination: Kaui, Hawaii.
24: What do you think of when you are in the water for hours: usually I'm just thinking about how much I'd like to get out but basically it boils down to - 'it's not over until I finish the race/the channel/the session.'

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

26: Three people you would invite to dinner: Bishop Spong, Barak Obama, Peter Singer

27: Cold water tips:
1) avoid,
2) if you can't avoid then acclimatise,
3) if you can't acclimatise get fat,
4) if you can't get fat see number (1)

28: Toughest competitor: the elements and my inner demons.

29: How much is weight a factor on long distance swims: weight will make the cold much less of an issue but at the end of the day it's mostly a mental game, being mentally prepared to deal with the cold and swim through it are just as important if not more so.

30: Pet hate: people pushing off from the wall just as I am about to tumble turn when they are clearly slower than me and I have to then immediately tap them repeatedly on their feet to reinforce their stupidity.

31: Biggest thrill: Breaking the world record around New York.

32: Favorite sport besides swimming: Always a soft spot for watching Liverpool in the Premier League.

33: Who would you like to sit next to on a plane: my wife.........in 1st class.

34: Car you drive: Ford Kuga - it's a pretend 4WD.

35: Next swimming challenge: hopefully the Gibraltar straits and the Molokai channel.

36: Occupation: Veterinarian

37: D.O.B: 27/7/1975

38: Favorite Pet: Tassie the Hungarian Viszla and Marley the moggy

39: Reasons for attempting the Channel: to see if I can do it, to raise money for pancreatic cancer and the Sandford Lido, and really because how many times in life do we really get to test the limits of our sanity.

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