Interview : Natasha Sones Photos : Various contributors In the early hours of Tuesday , April 27 , 2024 , friends Kerry Lewis and Nadia Weigh set a new world record as the fastest female crew to kayak the length of the Thames . They covered a gruelling 200km journey from Lechlade in the Cotswolds to Teddington Lock in just 21 hours and 33 minutes – well under their 24-hour target !
PADDLER
A chat with … Nadia
WEIGH
Interview : Natasha Sones Photos : Various contributors In the early hours of Tuesday , April 27 , 2024 , friends Kerry Lewis and Nadia Weigh set a new world record as the fastest female crew to kayak the length of the Thames . They covered a gruelling 200km journey from Lechlade in the Cotswolds to Teddington Lock in just 21 hours and 33 minutes – well under their 24-hour target !
Their goal wasn ’ t just to set a new record ; the pair were raising money for the charity ‘ Women in Sport ’ and raised over £ 3,300 in donations . Fellow paddler Natasha Sones caught up with Nadia to talk about their epic achievement , the journey , and what ’ s next .
Tell us about the start of your kayaking journey . What sparked your interest ? Mine and Kerry ’ s kayaking journeys are quite different : I only got into the sport three years ago , whereas she started kayaking and racing at an early age . I joined my local kayak club , and it just snowballed . I never considered myself ‘ sporty ’, but I was incredibly fortunate to have a coach , David Battershell , Batty , who made me feel like anything was possible . I started to dip my toes into the world of competitive kayaking . He put me and Kerry in a boat together , encouraged us to do our first race together , and even dragged me out of the water when I got stuck under a pontoon during our first national competition !
Batty sadly passed away earlier this year , and I feel a bit at a loss without him now at times , but we ’ re lucky to have lots of memories along the Thames with him , so he was definitely on the journey in some way .
PADDLER
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