Elisabeth pays family tribute with charity swim

Swimming 200 lengths of a pool in just an hour helped Elisabeth Yaneske raise £800 for Marie Curie Cancer Care, in memory of her late grandfather.

Elisabeth, a Learning and Teaching co-ordinator at the University of Teesside, took part in Swimathon 2007 as a tribute to her grandfather, who died from stomach cancer and was cared for by Marie Curie nurses.

She swam 5km, which equates to 200 lengths of the pool at Darlington’s Dolphin Centre. A keen swimmer from an early age, Elisabeth won six gold medals in April at the Scottish Masters Nationals. Her greatest achievement was finishing 9th in Europe for the 100m breaststroke.

Elisabeth, pictured, teaches modules in digital media and the web at the University’s School of Computing, but still manages to train for 11 hours a week in the pool to compete in Masters competitions.

She said: “Marie Curie Cancer Care provide nursing care, free of charge, to give people who are terminally ill the choice of dying at home supported by their families.

“Swimming has a long tradition in my family from when my Granddad first met my Grandmother in the local pool and confidently challenged her to race to show off his swimming prowess. Unfortunately for him, my Grandmother was a diving and swimming champion and proceeded to soundly thrash him!”

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