Sally Njeri finished a six-hour swimming marathon at the Nakuru Athletic Club in Kenya on Saturday. The 64-year-old Kenyan completed this feat to support the Kenya Life Savers Federation and generate funds for autistic children.
She explained before her marathon, “Today I am doing a six-hour challenge, where I am going to swim for six hours straight without coming out of the water.”
“I am raising funds for children with autism and lifesaving rescue divers. I would wish for all of us to donate what you have, it doesn’t matter the amount,” she said, according to Kenyans.co.ke.
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Njeri pointed out that society largely ignores children with autism, and that more people need to be aware of the difficulties they face.
She remarked, “Let us support these children. They are children that are normally left out, but I want as from today I want us to be thinking of these children so that we can leave them with a smile on their faces.”
At 8:55 a.m., Njeri started swimming, and she shared her remarkable accomplishment live on Facebook. Njeri persevered through the six-hour swim despite experiencing muscular cramps 26 minutes before the end of her swimming attempt, which threatened to halt it.
She shared afterward, “This was a swim for a cause, not the cameras.”
“I wanted to highlight the importance of drowning prevention and help kids with autism get better support,” said the 64-year-old, according to Genesis Sports Limited.
Dr. Maureen Owiti, Secretary General of Africa Aquatics Zone 3, expressed her admiration, stating, “Sally needs to be celebrated across the world. Swimming continuously for six hours at her age is no small achievement. She has secured her place in the Kenyan Swimming Hall of Fame as the first Kenyan master swimmer to accomplish such a feat. We look forward to honoring Sally at next year’s annual awards dinner, tentatively planned for Serena Hotel, where all swimming stakeholders will gather to recognize her accomplishment.”
The grandmother of two, who left college to pursue a career in diving, is affiliated with the Kenya Life Savers Federation and is a professional swimmer and volunteer diver.
She has almost 25 years of experience as a professional diver, despite the many difficulties the diving industry encounters, and currently holds the national master swimming record in her 60+ age category
Notably, Njeri was instrumental in the 41-day search and rescue mission of three victims recovered from Lake Nakuru following a helicopter crash in 2017.
