British Olympian Tom Daley capsized in the Thames during the first leg of the Red Nose Day endurance challenge. Over four days, Daley will travel from Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford to his hometown of Plymouth. It began with a six-mile row to the Tower of London, during which he tipped over into the frigid river waters, followed by a 60-mile cycle to the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake.
"The rowing is the most technical part. I've found the rowing particularly difficult, and I did fall in quite soon after starting out on the Thames," Daley said. "I was looking out at the Thames and thought it looked horrible: The waves were going wild, and the winds were blowing. If I'm honest, I didn't know if I was going to make it to Tower Bridge, but I did my best."
Today, the gold medalist continues his journey, swimming 1,000 meters in the lake's icy waters. "The one thing that I get to do when I've trained indoor swimming pools is doing laps in a pool, so just doing one side to the other and you can break it up. But when it's from one side of a rowing late to the other, it's just one straight shot. So it's going to be difficult," said Daley.
Following the swim, Daley is to hop back on his bike for the final leg and cycle 63 more miles to Southampton.
Daley expressed his gratitude for all the support he's received during his grueling journey. "The turnout of people coming out to say hello and show their support is really special, it's quite surreal. It's really keeping me going when I need it most," he shared.
Daley's journey is being filmed for a BBC One documentary premiering in March in the lead-up to Comic Relief's Red Nose Day.
