Dame Kelly Holmes, Sir Chris Hoy and Grantham’s Ross Edgley set to take on epic Triathlon For The Sea in Edinburgh with Talisker Whisky

Long-distance swimmer Ross Edgley will team up with two Olympic legends for a triathlon challenge to raise awareness for ocean conservation.

The strongman, who is from Grantham, will join cyclist Sir Chris Hoy and athletics icon Dame Kelly Holmes for a relay triathlon with a twist on October 16.

Ross and his two team mates will race consecutively along the coastline from Edinburgh from the Firth of Forth towards Cramond Island, which sits 1.5km off the shores of the Scottish capital.

The island is only visitable for a limited time per day, after which the causeway to access it is enveloped by the tide.

The trio are taking on the relay triathlon to raise awareness of marine conservation projects by Parley for the Oceans, supported by Talisker Whisky.

Ross will dive into the salty water in the Firth of Forth estuary, and swim 1.5km towards Silversands Beach, where Sir Chris Hoy will be waiting.

Once Ross has run up the beach and tagged him, Chris will embark on a 15.8km cycle across the Forth Bridge and along the Scottish coastline to meet Dame Kelly Holmes, who will run the triathlon’s final 10km.

A sprint until the very end, the athletes will have to ensure their race times are quick so that Kelly is able to complete her final leg along the causeway, before it is taken by the tide.

Ross, who became the first person to swim around Great Britain in 2018, said, “I am incredibly excited to be partnering with Talisker once more to undertake an epic race in the name of ocean conservation.

“The triathlon will be an awesome challenge and I am delighted to have two legendary sportspeople on my team to race in and alongside Scotland’s beautiful waters to Cramond Island, in the hope of beating the tide.

“The research being undertaken by Parley’s partners Heriot-Watt University and Plymouth Marine Laboratory could not be more important and it is an honour to compete in the stunning city that Heriot-Watt calls home. Bring it on!”

The three athletes will be competing with marine ecosystems in mind.

The research, that Talisker has helped fund through their long-term partnership with Parley, is being carried out at Edinburgh-based Heriot-Watt University, who along with Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) and the Blue Marine Foundation are undertaking independent scientific research in the Orkney Islands.

Just off the north coast of Scotland, these islands offer a remote, biodiversity-rich and abundant area of underwater kelp forests.

This scientific research aims to better understand kelp forests’ critical role in preventing climate change and the value they play in the biodiversity of Scotland’s fragile and beautiful marine ecosystems.

Parley for the Oceans and their partners will help to showcase how essential these underwater forests are and encourage greater levels of protection.

Talisker’s connection with the ocean goes back hundreds of years starting when founders, the MacAskill brothers, stepped onto the shores to set up the first distillery on the Isle of Skye.

Consumers can support Talisker and Parley for the Oceans’ mission to help protect Scottish waters and marine ecosystems around the world by purchasing a bottle of Talisker whisky from participating Tesco stores nationwide.

For every bottle sold from October 10 to November 6, Talisker will pledge £1 to Parley for the Oceans up to a maximum of £40,000, directly funding this important work to help preserve wild seas for generations to come.