Nerys Pearce will have to wait until 2021 to attempt to realise her goal of becoming the first person paralysed from the chest down to swim the English Channel.

“I got hypothermia nine hours into my Channel swim in October, and although I’ll be back next year, failing to complete my challenge didn’t sit well with me,” said the 39-year-old former combat medic.

The swim was the last event in Nerys’ Triple Endurance Challenge, which had already seen her complete 105 continuous miles using her wheelchair and hand cycle 100 miles around the Berkshire hills.

After having to abandon the swim, she decided she wanted to try something new.

“A friend told me about kayaking, and it only took 40 minutes for me to decide that I should kayak around some of the UK’s most famous lakes,” said Nerys.

So for her final challenge, Nerys and Abbi Wilkins (Blesma’s Corporate Partnerships Officer) kayaked a combined 150km around Loch Lomond in Scotland, Lake Windermere in England, and Lake Bala in Wales from 16-18 October, completing the challenge in 78 hours and 43 minutes.