Published: Thursday, 13th September, 2007 12:00pm

After 19 miles and 10-and-a-half hours, Andrea falls short of her Channel dream

Print | Email

SHE SWAM 19 miles in 10 and a half hours but it still wasn"t enough for Andrea Gellan to fulfill her ambition of swimming the English Channel.

Andrea (50), of Comely Bank, Dunfermline, is the British Long Distance Swimming Association"s reigning veterans champion and made the attempt on Sunday 26th August.

The mum of three told Press Sport, 'I got to about three miles off the French coast. I could see the finish and the houses on the coast. I thought I could even smell the coffee!

'But the tides changed and I got swept down the coast. Eventually I was told that I wouldn"t make it in so I had to abandon the swim.'

Andrea has spent two years training for the attempt, including a six-hour qualifying swim off Malta in April.

And she admitted that she was more than disappointed at not reaching France.

'To get so close and to not get in was devastating,' she said. 'On Sunday I was ready to give up swimming. I was absolutely gutted.'

Andrea has swam the Channel before as part of a relay team but she was determined to do it solo this time after turning 50 in April, to prove she still had it in her.

She was also hoping to raise £500 for the Gurkha Welfare Trust.

But despite the heartbreak of not completing the crossing, she still hopes to make another attempt.

'Now I"ve had a chance to think about it and I"ve spoken to a few people, I have found out that I"m not the first person this has happened to.

'People have been telling me that I have to go back and try again so I think I will.

"I think I will have a few weeks off first though and then get back to training. My teenage daughter Ailsa would probably like to see a bit more of mum at home.'

Having agreed to a family holiday next summer, Andrea now hopes to attempt the feat in the summer of 2009.