An estimated 87,500 front crawl strokes propelled endurance swimmer Anna Wardley on her 56-mile swim charity challenge around the Isle of Wight.

The 37-year-old from Gosport set off from Ryde Pier on Friday morning
and swam through the night to achieve her goal in a time of 26 hours, 33 minutes and 28
seconds.

Anna was delighted to finish the gruelling challenge more than three hours ahead of schedule and upon reaching dry land, she swore and described the experience as ‘horrendous’.

The swim marked Anna’s final 5ive Island Challenge, raising around £50,000 for charity.

Historymaker

Anna has become the fourth person to swim around the Isle of Wight and the ninth British member of the 24 Hour Club, for
people who have completed successful swims lasting more than a day.

Kevin Murphy, who became the first person to swim around the Isle of Wight in 1971, was in Anna’s support team as an ‘official observor’.

Anna admitted falling asleep for half an hour while swimming. She kept her energy levels up by eating jam doughnuts, Red Bull, ginger cake and painkillers, jelly energy blocks, electrolytes drink and a Hampshire Cakery flapjack.

As she entered her 25th hour of swimming, Anna joked: ’24 hours of swimming is enough for any day.’

The
plan was to swim to the beach at Ryde but the current was too strong and she
was exhausted so Anna climbed out as soon as she touched the pier.

She later described having a ‘burning, agonising pain’ in her arms.

Social media

Supporters were able to follow Anna’s progress with regular updates from her 20-strong on-the-water support team on Twitter @annawardley, on the Five Island Swim Challenge Facebook page and at www.annawardley.com

Live tracking was available at http://yb.tl/fiveislandswim2013

On Sunday, Anna wrote on Facebook: ‘This
time yesterday the tide had just turned after my five hours from hell
swimming against the tide off Ventnor, getting swept two miles backwards
in the process.

‘I was so cold that my teeth were chattering and I was
drifting off and being woken by my support team’s whistles as I veered
off.

‘I kept saying to myself ‘keep going because this time tomorrow it
will all be over and you will have swum round the Isle of Wight’.

‘I was
right, as I’m now toasty warm under my goosedown duvet, still sticky
with lanolin, but I have indeed swam round the Isle of Wight.’

To make a donation visit http://t.co/HyAHU3YCEn