Of the english channel. Now, all of these feats of superhuman endurance have been undertaken by my guest today, lewis pugh. Why does he do it . To focus attention on the Climate Crisis and its impact on our blue planet. His death defying exploits have won him political access from Downing Street to the kremlin. But is the response too little, too late . Lewis pugh, welcome to hardtalk. Thank you so much. Its great to have you on the show. Here you are before me in your very smart suit but soon, youll be back in your trunks on another Marathon Swim youve Just Announced youre going to swim the entire length of the hudson river through new york state, ending up in New York City at the time of the un General Assembly. Its a massive undertaking. Do these things get easier with experience and with time . Mentally easier. Physically, perhaps not so but mentally, yes. Because, without being impolite, you began these endurance tests, this extreme swimming, in your30s. Youre now into your 50s. J
here you are before me in your very smart suit but soon, you ll be back in your trunks on another marathon swim you ve just announced you re going to swim the entire length of the hudson river through new york state, ending up in new york city at the time of the un general assembly. it s a massive undertaking. do these things get easier with experience and with time? mentally easier. physically, perhaps not so but mentally, yes. because, without being impolite, you began these endurance tests, this extreme swimming, in your30s. you re now into your 50s. just physically, how demanding is this one going to be? i think it s going to be very, very demanding. i mean, it s a long it s a long swim. we think it s going to take me 30 days. the big challenge is obviously, the hudson s got rocks, there are rapids to begin
the big challenge is obviously, the hudson s got rocks, there are rapids to begin with so, you know, you hit a rock, your swim can end very, very quickly and it s a very, very long swim and also there s also pollution in the water. so, you put all those things together, it makes it a very, very challenging swim. you ve said something interesting about the way in pain and suffering works for an extreme endurance swimmer. you said, this is the only sport in the whole world that i m aware of where the more experience you have, in a way, the harder it becomes and ijust wonder when you said that, what did you mean by it? i think i think that that s correct. and, i mean, for example, when you watch a tennis player and you watch a tennis player hit so many balls and the more balls they hit, you know, the better they become. but when you have been really, really, really cold, it stays in your bones. and then, every single subsequent swim becomes exponentially harder. so, for example, y
swimming, in your305. you re now into your 50s. just physically, how demanding is this one going to be? i think it s going to be very, very demanding. i mean, it s a long it s a long swim. we think it s going to take me 30 days. the big challenge is obviously, the hudson s got rocks, there are rapids to begin with so, you know, you hit a rock, your swim can end very, very quickly and it s a very, very long swim and also there s also pollution in the water. so, you put all those things together, it makes it a very, very challenging swim. you ve said something interesting about the the way in which pain and suffering works for an extreme endurance swimmer. you said, this is the only sport in the whole world that i m aware of where the more experience you have, in a way, the harder it becomes and ijust wonder when you said that, what did you mean by it? i think i think that that s correct. and, i mean, for example, when you watch a tennis player and you watch a tennis player