Endurance Swimmer's Epic Challenge Takes Unexpected Turn with Wildlife Rescue
Endurance athlete Ross Edgley has revealed that one of the most profound moments during his ambitious attempt to swim around Iceland occurred not in the water, but on a beach where he helped save thirty stranded pilot whales. The 40-year-old world record holder, currently filming a three-part Channel 4 series about his Icelandic expedition, described the rescue as an emotional highlight that gave him "goosebumps" and brought tears to his eyes.
Emergency Call During Storm Shelter
The dramatic intervention happened when Edgley's support boat was taking shelter from an Arctic storm. A desperate plea for assistance appeared on social media, reporting that thirty pilot whales had beached themselves nearby. "Half the team were in the pub but we got them, half cut, and we all rushed down there," Edgley told the Mirror. "Imagine a car stuck in sand—these whales are huge and you are pushing and pulling them by hand."
He described the whales as initially appearing lifeless before showing subtle signs of life. "They had given up, they were lying there, they looked lifeless but then they'd open an eye, flick a tail," Edgley recalled. "You'd get goosebumps, a lump in your throat, tears in your eyes. I didn't realise I was going to get so emotional."
Scientific Expedition Meets Sporting Spectacle
Edgley's Icelandic swim represents both a sporting challenge and scientific endeavor. The University of Iceland collaborated with the team to collect environmental DNA samples, aiming to track biodiversity around the island with unprecedented detail. The swimmer covers approximately twelve miles daily, starting from western Iceland near Reykjavik and moving clockwise.
"They said they wanted to create a sporting spectacle and needed someone stupid enough to swim around Iceland," Edgley explained. "I was like, 'look, I know a guy—hold my beer.'" Despite encountering peaceful basking sharks and orcas during his journey, Edgley declared the whale rescue his best wildlife experience by far.
Grueling Physical Challenges
The 114-day expedition presents extreme physical demands. Edgley intentionally gained fifteen kilograms before the swim to provide insulation against the freezing waters where he spends up to twelve hours daily. "For weeks I was just trying to get as fat as possible to become like a whale," he admitted, noting the constant cold made swimming "just so hard."
Practical difficulties included cracking ice off his wetsuit before putting it on and dealing with severe chafing that felt like "rubbing sandpaper into an open wound." His tongue even began showing signs of deterioration from prolonged saltwater exposure, with coconut oil proving the most effective remedy to retain moisture.
Support Team's Hardship
Edgley praised his support team for enduring significant hardship themselves. "When you're in an Arctic storm, I'm in the water, so I can move with the swell, and if it's raining, I'm already wet," he noted. "But people on the boat are just getting absolutely smashed, so I did feel worse for them."
The swimmer acknowledged that many moments involved swimming with discipline rather than enjoyment. "So often you just have to swim with discipline where there's zero enjoyment and you are just doing it because you said you were going to do it," he explained.
Building a Reputation for Unusual Challenges
Having associated with elite athletes including Linford Christie and Sir Chris Hoy, and becoming friends with survival expert Bear Grylls, Edgley now finds himself approached with increasingly unusual swimming proposals. "If you need a really strange person to swim around a country, there's probably not many people you can ring," he laughed.
"I have a reputation for doing these strange events that I think any company or charity or university, if they say, 'Ross, there's a stretch of water, there's an ocean, there's a country that we need someone to go and swim.' Then I go, 'right, my goggles are ready.'"
The whale rescue episode will feature in next week's installment of The Great Icelandic Swim with Ross Edgley, airing Saturday 14 February at 7pm on Channel 4.
