By Jessica Micallef
Ralph Ewart has made a splash at the Gisborne Aquatic Centre.
The Romsey resident has just lapped up 10,000 kilometres in the one pool. He is the first swimmer to achieve this distance as part of the Lap It Up Club at the aquatic centre.
Mr Ewart said it had taken him more than a decade to achieve the record.
“It’s 400,000 laps … which is just over 10,000 kilometres,” he said.
“I started to do it [swimming] as exercise and then I got carried away.
“I think I’ve been doing it for 11 years. It takes a fair while to achieve 10,000 kilometres.”
The fine art photographer by day spends five days a week swimming. Now that he has swam
10,000 kilometres, Mr Ewart already has his eyes on a new goal.
“I spend two hours a day doing freestyle,” he said. “I’d like to swim half a million laps in the same pool. But I didn’t have a goal in the first place, it was just to swim laps.”
“It [swimming] is … relaxing and it’s a peaceful exercise.
“There’s also a bit of a social context, you get to meet new people.”
