After completing his 37-hour swim around Grand Cayman to raise awareness of plastic pollution in the islands, 37-year-old Oly Rush hit the water again – this time for a much shorter open-water endeavour.
Rush told the Compass that he hoped to compete against some of the Olympians during the Flowers Sea Swim, but a lingering shoulder injury from his ‘Grand Swim’ nearly a month ago forced him to take the event a little easier.
“I’m so competitive,” he said. “I’ve been a competitive swimmer since I was about a foot tall. So, it was really difficult for me, I’m not going to lie. I was never going to win because there are some incredible swimmers here… so I was just taking it all in and enjoying it.”
Rush, who hails from Dorset, England, swam alongside fans and friends, “chatting” throughout the one-mile journey, while capturing footage on his GoPro.
“I had to hold it in one hand, and I was able to just talk to people, get some footage with people swimming and just enjoying the whole thing and taking it all in.”
He added” “I’ve always known about the Flowers swim. I’ve been following it for a few years now and seeing so many incredible swimmers come this way and, obviously, a lot of local talent as well…it was just absolutely incredible.”
Rush was the 321st swimmer to cross the finish line. He clocked in at 42:05 according to the official results.
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