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Tom Daley OBE has set off on his gruelling four-day Red Nose Day challenge, tackling high winds, freezing temperature, tides and navigating locks for the first time rowing on the River Thames, with all the action being filmed for a primetime documentary to air on BBC One and iPlayer, in March.
Olympic diving superstar Tom Daley has now started his gruelling Hell of a Homecoming challenge at London’s Aquatic Centre in Stratford
This morning saw Tom tackle his first new Team GB discipline: rowing down the Thames to London’s Tower Pier, facing high tides, waves and fast winds
Tom capsized 100m the row on the Thames
Tom was joined by fellow gold medal winning Olympian Matty Lee and Comic Relief challenge veteran Davina McCall offering their support on the first day of his journey
All the action is being filmed for a primetime documentary to air on BBC One and iPlayer, in March
Red Nose Day returns on Friday 18th March
To support Tom visit comicrelief.com/tomschallenge
Monday 14th February: Today, national hero and diving superstar Olympian Tom Daley nervously set off on his mammoth four-day Hell of a Homecoming challenge for Red Nose Day, tackling high winds, freezing temperatures, tides and navigating locks rowing on the River Thames for the first time ever, in conditions far different to his training.
Tom began his demanding six-mile row at 7am this morning at the Aquatics Centre, Stratford, a place close to his heart as it’s not only where he won his first Olympic medal, but Tom’s late dad’s ashes are placed at the foot of the diving board. The end goal on his first leg today is the iconic Tower Pier.
In training, Tom developed his rowing skills on flat and calm waters, allowing him to get to grips with the equipment and the technical aspects, but today Tom has faced conditions that are completely new to him. The first part of the row saw Tom navigating narrow canals, where the high 15mph winds challenged his steering, making it difficult for him to stay on course.
100m after starting his row on the River Thames, the wind and waves caused Tom’s blade to clip the water, causing him to panic and capsize into the freezing water. Tom was able to climb back into the boat unaided and determinedly pushed through the cold and the rough waters to reach Tower Bridge.
Tom said: “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. 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."
Comic Relief challenge veteran Davina McCall and his diving partner Matty Lee both joined Tom to give him a hero’s send off this morning.
Davina said: “Watching Tom this morning has made me relive my Comic Relief challenge - it has brought back so many memories. I remember the excitement and trepidation and how being out on the road, or water, is never like it is in your training.
“Tom is in for a very tough four days ahead, especially with the challenging winds and weather conditions. It’s so important to conserve your energy in an endurance challenge like this. As Tom is also doing an open water swim tomorrow, my top tip for him is to get into the water, let the water seep into your wetsuit and become at one with the cold water before you set off. Even when you think you have nothing left, mentally or physically, there is always a little bit more to give."
Matty said: “Tom and I have trained together for years and whilst we’re used to an intensive training schedule, I know that endurance training is a completely different challenge. In diving, it’s all about short bursts of power but endurance-focused training is completely different. He has had to learn the basic techniques of all four disciplines and has to tackle the elements of the British weather, which as indoor divers, we’re definitely not used to!
“I wish Tom the best of luck and I’m so proud of the amazing challenge he’s undertaking and hope the great British public get behind him and offer their support in the same way they did with us in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics."
This morning’s exhausting six-mile row is just the first leg of Tom’s challenge as he makes his way by foot, boat, water, and bike to his hometown of Plymouth. Now he faces a 60-mile cycle from London’s Tower Bridge to the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake in Reading.
The next four days are set to test Tom’s fitness and drive like never before, and all of the highs and lows will be captured at every moment along the way for a special one-hour BBC One and iPlayer documentary, produced by Twofour, to air in March, ahead of Red Nose Day which returns on Friday 18th March.
The money raised by Tom Daley will help support vital life changing work, tackling issues including homelessness, domestic abuse, poverty and mental health problems in the UK and around the world.
To find out more and support Tom, go to comicrelief.com/tomschallenge
ENDS
ADDITIONAL QUOTES
Trainer Nicola Benavente, British Rowing said: “We’ve just done the Thames stretch, it was quite eventful. Around 100 metres in, the waves out there were pretty big. He was quite tense and one of his blades clipped a wave and I think it panicked him. The whole boat tipped, and he followed it and went straight in, head under the water. He reacted quickly and got straight into the boat and carried on. You could tell he was a bit panicked after that, but he just got his head down and pushed through it. It looked really, really hard as well; you could see he was working really hard, but he did an amazing job."
Mark Buckingham, British triathlon and trainer from Brownlee Fitness commented: “The first bit on the canal went fairly smoothly but the hardest bit of the canal was the navigation, because it was so narrow, there was some potential to hit some barges at the side and different moorings, but he got through that unscathed. The Thames was the big challenge: the waters were really rough. There were 10 / 15 mph head winds, with gusts of 20 mph as well as lots of shipping traffic to deal with, but he smashed it."
(Full quote) Davina McCall said: “Watching Tom this morning has made me relive the challenges I’ve done for Comic Relief, and it has brought back so many memories. I remember the excitement and trepidation I had when I first started my challenge and how being out on the Thames was so different to in training; it’s much windier and rockier than expected and it’s a real learning curve do a challenge in real life rather than just in training.
“Tom is in for a very tough four days ahead, especially with the challenging winds and weather conditions and it’s so important to conserve your energy in an endurance challenge like this. As Tom is also doing an open water swim tomorrow, my top tip for him is to get into the water, let the water seep into your wetsuit and become at one with the cold water before you set off. Even when you think you have nothing left, mentally or physically, there is always a little bit more. I knew I had to finish for all the great projects Comic Relief supports and that was always in the back of my head, and I’m sure Tom will have the same motivation over the course of his Hell of a Homecoming challenge."
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Case studies – for more info, quotes and pics of case studies available on request
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Red Nose Day Media Team:
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Out of hours enquiries: 07984 510 473
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Comic Relief
Comic Relief raises money to support people living incredibly tough lives. Through humour and stories of hope, we’ve shown that people can make a massive difference. We fund hundreds of amazing organisations who are working on the ground to support the most vulnerable people and communities in society including many of those hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis. This includes vulnerable children and young people, people who are homeless or who have been forced to flee their homes, women and families at risk of domestic abuse and those struggling with existing or new mental health problems.
For information about Comic Relief and the work it carries out, please www.comicrelief.com(opens in new window)
Comic Relief, which is the operating name of Charity Projects, registered charity 326568 (England/Wales); SC039730 (Scotland).
About Red Nose Day 2022
Red Nose Day is back on Friday 18th March 2022 and hopes to inspire people across the UK to make a difference, no matter how big or small. This Red Nose Day, we want to remind people that they have the power to change lives.
Money raised by Red Nose Day will help people in the UK and around the world live free from poverty, violence and discrimination, and support people with their mental health.
Visit https://www.comicrelief.com/rednoseday/ or follow @ComicRelief on social media for the latest Red Nose Day content, news and information.
Red Nose Day is an annual fundraising campaign run by Comic Relief. Comic Relief, which is the operating name of Charity Projects, is registered charity 326568 (England/Wales); SC039730 (Scotland).
