David Walliams will be joining James Cracknell on the final leg of his incredible Cross-Continent Challenge as the Olympic gold-medallist bravely attempts to travel from the UK to Africa using only his own body strength in aid of Sport Relief.
Before linking up with the Little Britain star to swim a gruelling 12 miles across the treacherous Strait of Gibraltar, Cracknell will already have rowed the English Channel and cycled more than 1395 miles through France and Spain in this epic trip which begins at the end of February.
The ultimate aim is to raise as much money as possible for Sport Relief so show your support and back Cracknell by giving now on www.challengecracknell.com.
Throughout the week-long challenge he’ll only be stopping for enforced breaks – 4 hours in every 24 hours – and has been getting some useful swimming tips from Walliams who famously swam the English Channel for Sport Relief in 2006.
They both battled freezing weather conditions for their first open-water training session at Dorney Lake in Windsor at the end of January when they were shown no mercy by trainer Professor Greg Whyte.
James said: “We hyperventilated when we first got in the water because it was so cold and after that your whole body just goes numb.
“I’m going to need all the help I can get by the end of this challenge and David is a real pro so having him there on the day will be a massive boost.”
All the money raised from the epic challenge will be spent helping vulnerable people living tough lives here in the UK and in some of the world’s poorest countries.
The public can also rise to the challenge for Sport Relief by doing one, three or six Miles at events around the country on the Sport Relief Weekend, Friday 14th – Sunday 16th March.
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For more information contact
Natalie Forster, n.forster@comicrelief.com, 0207 840 2517, 07973 868834
Notes to Editors:
o To enable fans to keep track of James’ progress during the Cross-Continent Challenge Nokia has created a website where they can view James’ real-time position at any time thanks to the N82’s assisted-GPS function. The site will also feature photos and videos documenting the record attempt taken on the N82 and uploaded via its wi-fi connectivity.
o Alan Shearer and Adrian Chiles will be attempting the Sport Relief Super Cycle for Sport Relief 2008. Setting off from Newcastle on 13th March and heading for BBC Television Centre in London via West Bromwich, the pair will have to cycle 335 miles in just 2 days in order to reach the studios live on the Sport Relief show on BBC ONE, March 14th.
o Sport Relief is an initiative of Comic Relief, registered with the Charity Commission, no. 326568