Halesowen worker conquers water fears (From Halesowen News)

Halesowen worker conquers water fears

2:50pm Friday 29th August 2008

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A Halesowen mortgage advisor is facing his fears as he embarks on a £5,000 fundraising challenge.

Ian Welton was left terrified of swimming after nearly drowning in a swimming pool on a family holiday when he was just eight-years-old.

After getting into difficulty Ian was dragged unconscious from the pool and given emergency mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Now the 30-year-old father-of-three has overcome his demons by learning to swim in order to compete in the gruelling Iron Man Triathlon challenge on Sunday September 7.

Ian said: “When the incident happened I was lucky the lifeguards acted so quickly and came to my rescue - things could have been so different.

“Ever since then I hated swimming and avoided it wherever I could, when I agreed to do the triathlon I never thought about the swimming at first.

“Learning has been tough as I have had to swim in open water which is much tougher than swimming in a pool.”

The challenge takes place in the grounds of Sherborne Castle in Dorset and consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile cycle and 26.2 mile run.

Ian has trained up to six hours a day for the event and is raising cash for the Fly2Help charity, which supports bereaved and ill people through life-enhancing flight trips.

It is a cause close to Ian’s heart - his older sister Sarah was born with severe disabilities.

Ian, who works for Nicklin LLP on Stourbridge Road, said: “I have seen first hand how charities such as this enhance the lives of people with disabilities - they do fantastic work.

“So far the fundraising has been going ok but I want to raise as much as possible.”

To support Ian contact Emily Skyte on 0121 5850707 or visit www.justgiving.com/ianwelton.

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