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Pull. Breathe. Kick. Glide … the cautionary tale of the first cross-Channel swimmer | Emma John

The Guardian Sport Friday 21 August 2026, 20:06 UTC By Emma John 1 min read
Key Points

In this content-driven age, we consume sport as fleeting entertainment – but the fate of Captain Matthew Webb suggests we always havePull. Three decades since my last swimming lesson, I found myself sitting in a lecture theatre chanting these words with a few dozen strangers, all of us trying not to take anyone’s eye out as we matched them to the actions. I’ve been to enough Edinburgh fringe shows to inure myself to the embarrassment of audience participation.

In this content-driven age, we consume sport as fleeting entertainment – but the fate of Captain Matthew Webb suggests we always have

Pull. Breathe. Kick. Glide. Three decades since my last swimming lesson, I found myself sitting in a lecture theatre chanting these words with a few dozen strangers, all of us trying not to take anyone’s eye out as we matched them to the actions.

Pull. Breathe. Kick. Glide. I’ve been to enough Edinburgh fringe shows to inure myself to the embarrassment of audience participation. And, to be honest, this one was a pretty euphoric communal experience. It turns out you don’t need to be near water to marvel at a swimming feat, especially one that’s more than 150 years old.

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Emma John (PERSON) Matthew Webb (PERSON) Edinburgh (LOCATION)
Originally published by The Guardian Sport Read original →

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