Serbian City Club

Boris Mavra swims the English Channel

On 29th of July 2009, one of our members, Boris Mavra, became one of just 1,056 people to swim solo across the 21 miles between Britain and France, raising more than £7,000 for the Willow Foundation in the process. Boris completed the journey in 14 hours and 26 minutes, despite fearsome conditions that would have ended the attempts of lesser competitors.

Just hours into the swim, Boris had to shrug off a jellyfish sting - a common hazard for channel veterans. Later boredom and mental fatigue became the biggest enemies, as the coastline of France stubbornly refused to get closer. But feeding every half hour on peach slices, energy drinks and Swiss Rolls, Boris battled to become one of a select few to front-crawl between the two countries.

Boris insisted he felt more relief than elation as he first grasped the sand at Sangatte, where a French family out for a walk greeted him. His support team including wife Vanessa, all jumped into the water to swim ashore before watching Boris clench his fists in triumph.

An attempt to do a full day's work the next day was not so successful, ending after just three hours when Boris retired home to bed to catch up on sleep. He said he could barely lift his arms and found that the continuous contact with salt water had swollen his face and lips.

His next feat could be the Manhattan swimming marathon.