AN ISLAND grandmother will be one of the oldest participants in the Great London Swim next Saturday.
Jenny Ball, 79, from St John's Road, Newport, already has an impressive resume of swimming accolades, including silver and bronze medals at the World and European Masters 3k Open Water Championships.
The Great London Swim is an open-water swim across the Royal Victoria Dock, the swimming equivalent of an event such as the Great South Run.
Jenny will be swimming the mile course.
She said: "I came to swimming quite late in life. At school I did a bit but didn't really swim competitively. The war stopped us all swimming until we were ten because there was no where for us to go."
She began swimming competitively in her 50s, and has since notched up six cross-Solent swims and competed in a host of competitions.
She returned from the Great British Championships in Aberdeen this week, where she won two golds, a silver and three bronze medals.
However, Jenny said she is "not bothered about the medals".
"I plough it all back into helping people swim. I love getting people swimming," she said.
In September, Jenny will swim the Serpentine in Hyde Park to raise money for macular degeneration research, for which she requires regular treatment.
"I fully believe there will be a cure for this within a few years, it just needs further research," she said.
She added: "My family think I am mad but I think they are secretly quite proud. The grandchildren love to come swimming with me when they visit on holiday."