Bay to Bay 2025: Military fitness instructor wins Cyprus open water swimming competition
The annual swimming contest for British Forces Cyprus personnel and their families has been won by one of the island's newest arrivals.
Corporal Jack Catterall landed in Cyprus only five weeks ago and quickly started training for the Bay to Bay open water swim in Episkopi.
Serving as a physical training instructor at Dhekelia Garrison, the British Army's new posting finished the 1,852-metre course in 27 minutes and 42 seconds.
"I couldn't see some of the yellow buoys because of the sun," said Cpl Catterall.
He also remarked that the one nautical mile course is quite different to the 200-metre swimming races he usually enters.
"You get lost a lot compared to the pool, where you can follow a line on the bottom," he added.
Kirsty Collins, Ayios Nikolaos Station's swimming pool manager, took first place for the women, finishing seventh overall.
"I've done it a few times before," she said. "It [the win] was a surprise, but I'm very pleased.
"I swim open water all year round – the weather was perfect and the temperature here in Cyprus is excellent."
RAF Akrotiri won the team contest, beating other stations and units.
The annual swimming contest starts at Lemmings beach, following a course across two bays and finishing at the military training wing at Tunnel beach.
Surprisingly to organisers, every single one of the 192 swimmers who entered the water completed the race.
"There's normally about six or seven who don't make it in the allocated timeframe of 90 minutes," said Warrant Officer Class 2 Phil Edwards from the organising team.
Notable entrants included Commander of British Forces Cyprus, Major General Tom Bewick.
"It's the first time I've done this for nearly 30 years – it's great to see so many people here," he said, while thanking the organisers and swimmers.
The competition has been running for more than 50 years, but was postponed in July for a month due to the large wildfires.
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