A Liverpool swimmer aims to complete an ultra-long 21.1 kilometres next week to raise awareness and funds for men’s health.
Joseph Sadler is taking on the challenge on behalf of the Movember campaign, which specifically raises awareness for cancer, mental health and suicide prevention.
The Livepool John Moores University student highlighted his aim ahead of the swim on 27th November.
He said: “We often like to show off our physical strength and hide our mental.”
Sadler also claimed that being involved in a sport so individual like swimming can make it hard to express how you are feeling.
In the UK 77% of men polled said that they had suffered with symptoms of negative mental health.
Sadler said: “By doing this I hope to get people talking to someone about any worries that people may have and that there is always someone to talk to.
“I wanted to do something out of the ordinary and I haven’t seen many people swim a half marathon, so I wanted to do something particularly different for such a special cause.”
In preparation for the challenge the 21-year-old said: “I’ve been spending as much time in the pool as possible to get the distance in to help deal with fatigue but besides the pool I’ve been in the gym a lot which also supplements the swimming.”
As Sadler prepares for his swim, he reflected on his motivation for the challenge.
He said: “Through doing this I hope to raise some awareness to this silent killer in men.”
Findings found via priority group claim that 40% of men have never spoken to anyone about their mental health and 29% of those say they are “too embarrassed” to speak about it with 20% saying there is a “negative stigma” to the issue.
Sadler explained: “I can still put my mind to achieving something for more than just myself. I hope that doing this will get people talking about the topic or any worries that they personally have.”
To support Joseph Sadler’s Half-Marathon please click here.
