Super swimmer Matthew’s ‘Loch Ness’ effort makes a splash for Archie Highland
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Inverness schoolboy Matthew McCreadie has raised £1500 for the Archie Highland Appeal – by swimming the equivalent of the length of Loch Ness.
The 18-year-old Millburn Academy prefect, a member of the Great Britain Disability Swim Team, smashed through his 1,810 lengths target at the Aquadome swimming pool and his phenomenal effort finished with 2,000 lengths racked up.
Mary Nimmo, chair of Archie Highland and senior partner in local legal firm Munro & Noble, was there to cheer on Matthew.
She said:”It’s a marvellous achievement to complete some 40,000 metres of swimming.
“It reflects so highly on Matthew that a youngster was so keen to help our charity for the Raigmore Hospital children’s unit. We’re grateful for what is a really exceptional effort, showing tremendous commitment.”
Matthew said:”It’s been exhausting, but I’m very happy to hit my target and help children in hospital and their families.”
His mum Susan McCreadie said:”He wanted to do something for Archie Highland so we worked out the length of Loch Ness and calculated he could swim it in a month if he worked really hard.
“It’s been a gruelling challenge, but Matthew never faltered and we’re really proud of him.”
Matthew, who permanently has surgical screws in his hips, hopes his marathon swim will help his fitness as he bids for selection for next year’s European disability swimming championships in Portugal.
Matthew is in Monmouth, Wales, on a training camp with the Great Britain Disability swim squad on September 10 and 11.
Leading Archie Highland supporter Steven Barclay, owner of local fleet Seafield Transport, was so impressed by Matthew when he met him that he named a truck after him. Seafield has auctioned naming rights to ten trucks in aid of the charity.
