Grantham strongman and endurance swimmer Ross Edgley attempts the world’s longest swim in Italy

Grantham strongman and endurance swimmer Ross Edgley will attempt to complete the world’s longest swim this week in Italy.

Ross, 37, made the attempt last year in Loch Ness, but had to cut short the attempt because of health concerns.

Ross is hoping to break the record for the longest continuous swim by swimming 171km in Lake Trasimeno, in the Umbria region of Italy.

He is due to start the challenge on Thursday (July 13) and should finish the swim by Sunday (July 16), completing it in less than 76 hours.

Ross has also lost 14kg since his swim in Loch Ness in September. He swam continuously for 52 hours and 39 minutes without touching land or boat, in temperatures as low as 41 degrees Fahrenheit. He said the swim was the ‘biggest challenge of his career physically and mentally’.

Before his latest bid to break the world record, Ross said: “I just cannot wait to get on with the swim. It’s been a challenge if I’m honest. We have had weather problems, flooding problems, changes of dates, crew mixing, matching, people being subbed in.

“I cannot get any fitter, any leaner, as more streamlined in the water, any more fat adaptive. I just feel ready to go.”

In 2018, Ross became the first person to swim 1,780 miles around Great Britain without touching land.

Ahead of his latest challenge, Edgley said “I learnt a lot of lessons in 2022 at Loch Ness but everything is coming together for me this time round. It’s going to be the toughest thing I’ve done so far but it’s looking positive.”