Tom Daley is on an epic four-day voyage from London to Plymouth

The UK’s favourite diver is undertaking a pretty ambitious challenge this week: rowing, cycling, swimming and running more than 270 miles from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford all the way to Plymouth. Of course, we’re talking about Olympic gold medallist and knitting fanatic, Tom Daley. He’s certainly one to keep us on our toes. 

He’s not just doing this for fun, though. Daley’s endurance challenge is raising money for Comic Relief, the UK charity that has its Red Nose Day fundraising campaign coming up on March 18, aiming to raise money to end poverty across the world.

To start, the Olympic gold medallist set off at 7am on Monday and rowed six miles along the Thames from Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to Tower Bridge (where he promptly capsized).

‘The rowing is the most technical part,’ Daley said. ‘I’ve found the rowing particularly difficult, and I did fall in quite soon after starting out on the Thames.’

He then picked up his bike at the Tower of London to cycle 60 miles to the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake in Reading, followed by an open-water swim in 5C icy waters and another lengthy bike ride to Southampton. 

Today, it’s day three of the four-day challenge. He’ll be cycling 130 miles in the rain, wet and wind of Storm Dudley. Will he make it?

Tom Daley’s Comic Relief challenge will be shared in a documentary called ‘Tom Daley’s Hell of a Homecoming’, and will air on BBC One next month. You can follow his journey and donate to Comic Relief here. 

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