Greek 53-year-old mother of three prepares to swim across the English Channel

The idea of ​​swimming the famous channel, one of the most demanding sea routes in the world, and “stepping on” the French coast, had been “piercing” in her mind since the pre-coronavirus era. However, her husband’s concerns about the dangers of this particular route kept her on land. The sudden loss of the man with whom she had created a family and three children led her back to the swimming pools.

“For eight months after the loss of my husband, I couldn’t swim, I felt suffocated. However, along the way, I realized that water was the only healthy way out there. And so, last October, I announced to my children and family that I wanted to cross the English Channel,” says Ms. Stogiannidou, speaking to the Athenian Macedonian News Agency.

This was the first step, as preparation and a winter crossing of the Toroneos Gulf followed, a distance of 26 km from Kallithea on the first “leg” to Nikiti on the second “leg” in Halkidiki. A sea “battle” for eight hours and three minutes, in extremely cold water, proving that willpower can conquer everything.

“The main requirement for me to participate in the English Channel crossing was to swim for six hours in a water temperature of 14 – 15 degrees Celsius. And this, because even in the English Channel, at a distance of 35 km with strong currents, the sea temperature will range in June from 13.6 to 15 degrees Celsius.”

Thessaloniki: 53-year-old mother of three children is preparing to swim across the English Channel

Ms. Stogiannidou persevered and succeeded in Toroneos, having the necessary witnesses to certify this shocking effort. Thus, she sent this specific result to the authorities along with all the other medical tests and now the countdown begins for the marathon swim from England to France.

She herself believes that the greatest difficulty is “hypothermia and not the distance”. After all, she knows distances from swimming as she has swum in all the seas and bays of Greece. With her teammate Konstantinos Letsos and her coach Giorgos Adam at her side, the 53-year-old is “building” day by day beyond her swimming performances and the psychological mood that such an impressive undertaking requires.

On a daily basis and until the beginning of summer, the persistent swimmer will run 4 – 5 km in a pool, while once or twice a week she will go to the sea with her partner, where she will “hit” 5 km in cold water, so that the body gets used to the low temperature that she will be called upon to face during the English Channel crossing.

As a worker for years at the Toumba swimming pool in the municipality of Thessaloniki, Ms. Stogiannidou met with the mayor, Stelios Angeloudis, informing him about the project and asking the mayor to declare his warm support for her effort, in any way he can.

However, due to the fact that several thousand euros are required for travel, organization, etc., a fundraising process has already been launched through gogetfunding.com. There, those interested can deposit an amount in the campaign entitled: “Support Patty’s Life Challenge”. At the same time, several citizens who have Ms. Togiannidou as their coach at the municipal swimming pool decided to mobilize on their own and to show her how much they believe in her. So, they collected money in a piggy bank for her to fulfill her long-awaited goal.

So far, only four Greek swimmers and one Greek female swimmer have managed to achieve this particular feat. She herself, however, tells APE-MPE optimistic that not only will she manage to finish, but she will also be the first swimmer to finish over 50 years old.

“I believe that I will succeed because I am very stubbornly going to the crossing, which you consider the Everest of marathon swimming. There is nothing more. I will go to try. “I’m not afraid of anything, only hypothermia makes me feel strange. My goal is to finish. The bet is now on myself…”, she emphasizes.