Swimming down the Darling River. Plenty of challenges as epic swim continues
Story by Tricia Duffield
Marathon charity swimmer Scott Gladman is making headway as he swims down the Barwon River into the Darling, and on to Bourke.
Scott is a 63-year-old grandad and farmer from Victoria who is taking on the challenge of being the first person to swim the length of the Darling River, from Brewarrina to Wentworth.
Scott’s charity ‘Fight the Current’ swim is to raise funds and awareness about two devastating disorders – motor neurone disease and Parkinsons disease, with two of his best mates, Russ and Paddy, afflicted by the diseases.
Scott himself survived a heart attack and that episode was a pivotal moment in his life. He decided he wouldn’t waste his ‘second chance’ and embarked on his Fight the Current challenge.
Now in his second week, Scott is swimming 10 – 14kms a day, but the conditions are not ideal, and he admits parts of it have been tough going.
“The start was full of emotion, with my mate Russ and his wife Julie there, and then my other mate Paddy came up, and drove the boat for a couple of days,” Scott said.
“We had a little bit of shallow water on the early days, and we had the odd spot where I just had to hop up and walk along the bottom, but the boat got through so it’s been pretty good so far. […]
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