Editing River Avon, Warwickshire (section)

== Sporting achievements ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2024}}
At 01:18 on Sunday 18 July 2021, 41 year old Craig Openshaw from [[Tewkesbury]] became the first person in the world to swim the entire length of the 47.1 mile Navigable River Avon; known as the 'Swim The Avon' project. Craig was supported by a four man land and boat crew consisting of Robert Stringer, Bob Bain, Joe Bawdon and Phil Leibrandt.

Despite being an ex-competitive pool swimmer, Craig had never taken part in open water swimming previously and the crew had never embarked on any similar challenges.

The team set off from Alveston Weir in [[Stratford-upon-Avon|Stratford-Upon-Avon]] at 20:00 on Friday 16 July 2021 and swam through the day and night to complete the 47.1 mile swim. The challenge was completed in 29 hours and 18 minutes.

Bob Bain also rowed the entire course as lead kayak, in memory of his late wife Gail Bain.

The swim captured the imagination of local communities along the river, with hundreds of spectators turning out to encourage the team.

Craig finished the world first swim following an intensive 3 month long training programme and completed all of his training in the river Avon. Permission to complete the swim was granted by the Avon Navigation Trust who verified the swim had never been previously completed.

The team raised a total of £17,800 for [[Cancer Research UK]], with the challenge featuring on various news outlets such as [[BBC News]].{{cn|date=September 2022}}