FOUR teenagers who plan to swim a Channel relay this summer could soon be planning solo swims.

Jersey Long Distance Swimming Club members Alice Harvey (17), Chantelle Le Guilcher (14), Bianca Kempster (16) and Tasmin Powell (14) say they cannot wait for the relay challenge this August – they leave in just over seven weeks’ time – but each say their ultimate ambition is to swim the 21-mile stretch unassisted.

The girls have spent nearly 12 months preparing for the Sea to See Challenge having responded to an appeal from Australian swimming coach Dee Marie, who was looking for British open water swimmers to join two Australian teenagers in a fund-raising Channel relay.

Alice said: ‘It’s taken a lot of preparation and training but we’re almost there – and it’s just starting to sink in! All the final details are getting sorted so we’re starting to get really excited now.’

JCG students Harvey and Kempster, Haute Vallée’s Le Guilcher and Beaulieu’s Powell have put in a tremendous number of hours training, in the sea and pool, under the eye of JLDSC president Sally Minty-Gravett.