Olympic double gold medal swimmer Rebecca Adlington was the star guest at a special swimming-based fundraiser for good causes in Mansfield and Ashfield.

Rebecca and her daughter, Summer, swam sponsored lengths at Water Meadows Swimming and Fitness Complex in the town as part of an annual event that supports charities and local groups.

The sixth Charity Swimathon, organised by Mansfield Rotary and the Armchair Club, again raised thousands of pounds and organisers are hopeful it will have beaten last year’s total. Over the previous five years the event has topped £25,000.

Among the swimmers were many individuals and teams from local businesses, charities, and groups.

One of the new teams for 2024 was from Mansfield business Total Integrated Solutions (TIS), a corporate member of Mansfield Rotary. Its head of operations, Mark Wilson, led the company’s swimmers.

Among the other teams were Sutton Swimming Club, 776 Gymnastics in Mansfield, North Notts Hockey Club, The Social Action Hub in Rainworth, Portland College, and Reach Learning Disability, which has a base in Mansfield, who collectively swam almost 3,000 lengths.

The president of Mansfield Rotary, Andy Campin, presented each swimmer with a commemorative medal, assisted by Geoff Waller, of The Armchair Club.

Andy said: “The swimathon was another great success with many of our Rotarians volunteering their time to ensure we raised more money for charities and good causes.

“I want to thank all the swimmers for taking advantage of this opportunity to raise funds for their favourite charities.

“Even more money has been raised this year, adding to the £25,000 raised over the first five events.”

Main sponsor for the event for a sixth time was Education Mutual. Lane sponsors were were Mansfield Building Society, Kath Jephson, Hopkins Solicitors, and Mansfield 103.2.

The swimmers’ sponsorship was based on the number of lengths swum. Half of the money raised by each team of up to six went to their chosen cause — an organisation or charity — with the remaining 50% being shared by Mansfield Rotary’s Benevolent Fund and the Armchair Club Sports Foundation Trust.

Both organisations will use the funds raised across the local community as part of their support work.

The Armchair Club is a group of local businessmen and women, who have been providing financial support for local sports people since 1982.

Lane counters were Rotarians Kelvin Bowman, Ray Malkowski, Geoff Milnes, Chris Buck, together with Martyn Knox and John Morley from the Armchair Club.

Rotarian and Armchair Club member Gary Jordan was the announcer and compiled a list of swimmers’ completed lengths. Rotarians Annette Clay and Holly Hensleigh ran a registration desk.

Special thanks went to More Leisure Community Trust and staff at Water Meadows, who donated pool time, lifeguards, and staff support.