Deep dive: I'm swimming 14km underwater for charity

Intrepid Tracy Piggott is planning to swim 14km underwater, from Finavarra Point in Co Clare to Salthill in Co Galway, to raise funds for a children’s charity she has supported for almost 20 years

Tracy Piggott on Salthill Prom at the launch of her underwater charity swim across Galway Bay on July 28. Picture: Murt Photography

On Tuesday, July 28, Tracy Piggott, former RTÉ racing presenter, will embark on an eight-hour, solo underwater swim across Galway Bay. A mother of one, she is taking on this feat of endurance in aid of Sensational Kids, a charity she has supported for almost 20 years.

She has seen first-hand the importance of the developmental supports and services Sensational Kids provides for families with additional needs. “I have friends who have been waiting years for services like occupational therapy, speech-and-language therapy, needs assessments, and play therapy for their kids. These services can be life-changing for children and can help them to reach their full potential. I think it’s a human right to give that opportunity to a child.”

Piggott, 60, knew she needed to “go big” to raise significant funds.

“I decided to do [the swim] because I love being underwater; I scuba dived for many, many years. I also believe that if you’re going to do any sort of a challenge, it has to be something a little bit different that can capture the imagination.”

Making waves this year

Piggott, the daughter of the late jockey Lester, will swim 14km underwater, from Kinvara Point in Co Clare to the beach at Salthill in Co Galway. She has done this challenge before. In 1998, she swam in aid of Leukaemia Trust, following the death of friend John Durkan; she raised €200,000. “That was back in the days before social media or anything, so I’m hoping we can raise considerably more this time.”

The funds have been earmarked for Sensational Kids’ new headquarters in Kildare town, which will include a tailor-made hippotherapy facility.

“Hippotherapy, which is also called riding therapy, is quite remarkable for children with additional needs. From developing their core strengths to prompting changes in behaviour,” says Piggott, who has ridden horses for most of her life. “We find that kids really want to go for their hippotherapy sessions: Either to ride the horses or simply spend time with them.”

The waiting lists for hippotherapy classes with Sensational Kids are long, but a dedicated facility would transform the service offering, she says.

There’s much at stake for this fundraising feat, and to prepare for the task, Piggot says she’s been doing a lot of “targeted strength work”, using a reformer bed to focus on her ankle joints.

“Because I’ll be wearing quite heavy, short, wide fins on my feet, there’s quite a lot of weight going through my lower legs at the ankle joint. When you’re under the surface and pushing quite a large volume of water, there’s quite a lot of resistance, so exercises that build up the strength in that joint are important.”

Staying fit

Piggott says she has a “tendency to stay quite fit”.

She recently qualified as a yoga teacher and the breathing techniques she studied are coming to the fore now as she prepares for her underwater swim.

“During my training, I learned a lot of different, deep breathing techniques and relaxation strategies that I know are going to help me a lot.”

Having done the swim before, albeit 28 years ago, is “a massive advantage”, she says. “I’m more aware, this time, about what can happen during the several hours doing it, which means I’m able to train better.”

Part of that training is preparing for the mental aspect, because she will be in complete darkness for eight hours.“The last time I did this particular swim, once I was perhaps halfway through, I started seeing things, like creatures from the deep and mermaids. I’m more prepared now for my mind playing tricks on me.”

She will be accompanied by the Boyne Fishermen’s Rescue and Recovery Service, which will be on the surface, while divers will take turns to swim close by. She will be in direct communication with the surface team.

Though physically demanding, she is looking forward to the silence and the peace.

I think it will be quite profound. In that environment, you lose a sense of space and time, and you lose a sense of self in a way. After a few hours... you feel this unique sense of being one with the whole ocean. I know that might sound twee to some people, but it’s actually very true, and very humbling.

Waiting for her at Salthill will be Piggott’s 18-year-old daughter, Thea, whom she had when she was 42.

“Looking back, I think it was a perfect time for me to have her. I’d gone through some difficult things and come out the other side, and I don’t think, if I’d had my daughter earlier, I would have been the parent I am today.”

Thea is getting ready to head off on her sixth-year holiday. Piggott admits to being anxious about it, but the two have a close bond that comes from being a pair for so long. “You know, I’m so proud of her; she worked so hard in the Leaving Cert, so this will be great for her. She’s strong, she’s independent, she’s funny, and she’s a gift, really.”

Also waiting for Tracy shoreside will be her husband, Eamonn Leigh, whom she married in 2021. “I think I did everything later in my life,” she laughs. “Eamonn and I had been friends for years and years, and then it became something else, and it’s great.”

Piggott reminisces about her big day, saying how glad she was that her dad, horse-racing legend Lester, had been able to be there before he passed away the following year. “We were so fortunate to have dad with us on our wedding day. He was so proud to be there.”

Though the task ahead of her is daunting, Piggott is nothing if not prepared, mentally and physically. She still rides horses daily and believes that being active helps her when she becomes overwhelmed.

“I always found that when I did exercise of any sort, it helped me get out of that space. Now, getting into my 60s, it’s going to take on a different importance for me, because I feel that unless we keep moving in some way, we’re going to start running into problems. Also, I know far too many people with Alzheimer’s and dementia, and I just really want to try to keep my brain active.”