Lewis Gordon Pugh on swimming at the North Pole

01 Oct 2008

Speakers: Lewis Gordon Pugh

Lewis Gordon Pugh recounts becoming the first man to perform a long-distance swim in open water around the North Pole. His 1km swim in July 2007 took place in water with a temperature of -1.7°C and took nearly 19 minutes. To put this into perspective, the water temperature in an indoor swimming pool is around 27°C and the waters in which the Titanic sank were 5°C.

Pugh's rationale for taking on such an extreme challenge was to highlight the effects of climate change. Having swum in every ocean, he has seen first-hand how global warming is beginning to alter landscapes all over the world. After explaining how he prepared both mentally and physically for the swim, Pugh explains that despite the recent recession, climate change is the biggest challenge facing humanity. He believes that we can still rise to the challenge and beat global warming – but only if all the countries of the world work together and everybody does their bit. He finishes by asking what kind of world we want to provide for our children and grandchildren.

Thank you to the Business Innovation Factory for making this video available.