TALES of flying fish and ferocious storms from a Guinness World Record holder enthralled children at King’s Ely Acremont.
Jake Heath, one of four people who entered the Guinness Book of World Records after successfully completing the Olympic journey from London to Rio de Janeiro using human power alone, popped into school to talk to excited Year 2 pupils.
The fascinating talk tied in perfectly with the pupils’ Explorer-themed topic for the term and the whole ethos at King’s Ely Acremont, where every day really is an adventure.
Jake visited King’s Ely Acremont with his partner, Isla, whose younger sibling attends the school. Jake and his teammates’ challenge, Row2Rio 2016, saw them rowing and cycling the Olympic journey from London to Rio de Janeiro.
During the mammoth 55 day challenge, the group cycled 1,495 miles from the Olympic Park in Stratford, London, to Lagos, Portugal, where they then rowed 3,400 nautical miles across the Atlantic Ocean to Recife, Brazil. For the final phase of their journey, the team cycled from Recife down the eastern coast of Brazil to Rio De Janeiro to link the two Olympic cities.
They were the first people to successfully complete the expedition, earning them a place in the Guinness Book of World Records before the first athletes even competed in the Rio 2016 Olympics. As if that wasn’t enough, they also raised over £100,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Speaking about his visit to the school, Jake, who works as a podiatrist in a London hospital, said: “It was an absolute pleasure to visit King’s Ely Acremont and take the children along the Row2Rio journey of rowing the Atlantic, seeing sharks, experiencing sea sickness and being stuck in huge storms. I really hope the story inspired the children and that one day it will encourage some of them to do an epic adventure.”