Harrogate’s Millie Bell is addicted to swimming.
The 24-year-old open water swimmer has represented Great Britain at major competitions and now has her sights set on bigger achievements.
Next year, she will take on the English Channel – one of the major endurance tests for swimmers which spans 21 miles.
For Millie, the feat will be a big task, but it is also one that she feels she needs to do.
Starting out
Millie did not start out as an open water swimmer.
Instead, she used to run triathlon while studying at the University of York.
But, soon she was bitten by the swimming bug and never looked back.
The move was organic rather than by design. In 2018, the 24-year-old went to a beginners course at Blue Lagoon in Pontefract to test the waters.
She soon found the open water swimming addictive.
“I was pretty scared when I got in, but I soon got used to it.
“That was the start of everything. I fell in love with open water swimming, the community and everything that came with it.”
Millie swimming from Jersey to France as part of her English Channel training.
Races in open water swimming can range from one mile to marathon lengths of 10 miles.
The competitions are feats of endurance which test the patience and stamina of those who participate.
Millie competes in marathon races and her biggest feat has been Windermere Lake, which stretches for 10 miles and took her five hours to complete.
When asked why the lengths are so enticing for her, Millie said it boils down to her urge to test herself and push her body to the limit.
“I’ve always wanted to challenge myself and see what I’m capable of.”
Winning bronze
Millie’s development as a swimmer has been dramatic.
In January this year, she competed with Great Britain at the World Ice Swimming Championships in the French Alps.
She won a bronze medal in each of her three events.
“Going into it, I didn’t think I stood a chance of getting a medal.
“I swam my first race and I was really happy with my time. When I saw my results and that I’ve got a bronze, I was really quite emotional. I never thought that I would get to compete internationally, never mind get a podium.”
But, for Millie, the next challenge was always around the corner.
In fact, the set piece event is in August 2024 when she will take on the English Channel.
Taking on the channel
The idea to swim the channel has always been there for Millie.
She describes it as an “itch”, but did not fully explore the idea until 2021.
“I remember one day I bought this book about it. I was reading this book and it was about this crazy woman who swam through winter and swam for hours upon hours on end.
“I read a chapter of it and I went: ‘No, that’s crazy. I’m not doing that.’
“A couple of months later, I was looking on Facebook and there was this channel relay looking for people to join. I applied and thought that I wouldn’t get on. But then I got on and it started from there.”
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Millie completed the channel relay, which sees swimmers compete in a team and swim for an hour at a time on the English Channel.
But she realised that she wanted to take on the full swim solo.
Last month, she went to Jersey as part of her training which saw her swim from the island to France which is 14 miles and took her seven hours and 22 minutes to finish.
“The distance for me was not too much of a problem. I knew I was capable of doing it because I had swam Windermere a couple of times and that’s 10 and a half miles.”
Millie swimming the channel relay in 2021.
The build up to the swim will test Millie’s body, but also her mind.
Much like other athletes who compete at the highest level, Millie has been working with a sports psychologist to help get her in correct mental state to swim the channel.
“For me, I doubt myself quite a lot.
“Sometimes when you get in the middle of a swim and you’re in the middle of the sea, you start to doubt yourself and you start to panic.
“He [the psychologist] helps me with ways to keep my focus. It’s really important is the mental side. It’s only this year that I have started to realise how important it is.”
She added that the mind can also wander during extended hours of swimming, including being bored.
“When you’re swimming for six or seven hours, what do you think about?
“If I can get my brain so that it doesn’t think about anything then that is absolutely perfect. But when you’re bored, you start to think about everything don’t you? You start to think: ‘Did I say this wrong earlier in the week?’
“Being bored makes me really anxious. Some people get really bored and just want to get out. So boredom can be a bit of an issue. But, for me, panicking is more of an issue.”
The list of channel swimmers stretches back as far as 1875, when Matthew Webb, an English swimmer and stuntman, became the first recorded person to complete it.
In 10 months time, Millie could join that list.
For her, completing the task would be an itch she could finally scratch.
“It’s probably one of the biggest things that I will do in my life.”
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