Displaying items by tag: Jon Simmons

8th February 2021

Top Canoe Coach Completes Seven Kayaking Marathons in Seven Days for Charity

Jon Simmons paddling the Liffey for his 7x7 challenge

Canoeing Ireland’s national talent development coach has completed seven kayaking marathons in just seven days in a charity fundraiser, as RTÉ News reports.

Jon Simmons, who is also head junior club coach at Salmon Leap Canoe Club in Leixlip, took up the 7x7 challenge which saw him paddle 42km on the Liffey each day for an entire week.

The mammoth effort — which was backed by fellow canoeing names like his fiancée Jenny Egan — was to raise funds and awareness for youth mental health charity Jigsaw.

RTÉ has more on the story HERE.

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Jon Simmons

Foley and Simmons Team Up at Canoe Marathon World Championships

#Canoeing: Ronan Foley and Jonathan Simmons took 14^th place in the men’s K2 at the canoe marathon World Championships in Shaoxing in China today. Quentin Urban and Jeremy Candy of France won in under two hours, while Simmons, a former British international, and Foley covered the course in two hours six minutes and 16.97 seconds.

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Jenny Egan Fourth at World Marathon Championships

#Canoeing: Jenny Egan took fourth at the canoe marathon World Championships in Shaoxing in China. The long race, over 26.2 km, saw the Irish K1 paddler miss out on the bronze, which was taken by Lizzie Broughton of Britain. Hungary’s Vanda Kiszli won gold. Egan had been sixth in the short K1 race.

Ronan Foley took 10th in the Under-23 ranks, and Peter Egan 23^rd in the men’s senior K1. Peter Egan had won gold in the 40 to 40 age group at the World Masters Championships, also in Shaoxing.

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Forty Foot Swimming Spot on Dublin Bay

The 'Forty Foot' is a rocky outcrop located at the southern tip of Dublin Bay at Sandycove, County Dublin from which people have been swimming in the Irish Sea all year round for 300 years or more. It is popular because it is one of few spots between Dublin city and Greystones in County Wicklow that allows for swimming at all stages of the tide, subject to the sea state.

Forty Foot History

Traditionally, the bathing spot was exclusively a men's bathing spot and the gentlemen's swimming club was established to help conserve the area.

Owing to its relative isolation and gender-specific nature it became a popular spot for nudists, but in the 1970s, during the women's liberation movement, a group of female equal-rights activists plunged into the waters and now it is also open to everyone and it is in the control of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Many people believe that swimming in extremely cold water is healthy and good for the immune system.

Is it safe to swim at the Forty Foot?

The Forty-Foot is a great place to swim because there is always enough water to get a dip but like all sea swimming, there are always hazards you need to be aware of. For example, a lot of people like to dive into to the pool at the Forty-foot but there are submerged rocks that can be hazardous especially at low water. The Council have erected signs to warn people of the underwater dangers. Other hazards include slippy granite cut stone steps that can often be covered with seaweed and of course marine wildlife including jellyfish that make their presence felt in the summer months as do an inquisitive nearby Sandycove seal colony.