1st April 2019
BREAKING NEWS: CHAMPION SWIMMER DROWNS IN POOL
Former Olympic swimmer Anna Bloxham was found dead on Saturday morning after drowning in a hotel pool. Bloxham had been staying at the exclusive Marina Rothschild hotel in London with her daughter Liberty, 19, after the pair returned from celebrating Bloxham's 65th birthday in Italy, according to sources close to the family.
It is believed that Bloxham suffered a heart attack during an early morning swim at the luxury hotel's private pool, overlooking Hyde Park, and was unable to make it out of the water. The hotel has been closed since Ms Bloxham's body was discovered by a fellow guest, who claimed that there was no lifeguard on duty and it took several minutes to locate a member of staff.
"It was absolutely horrific. Worst moment of my life," says Caryn Sherwood, who found Bloxham's body at six a.m. "The moment I realise she was dead, I called an ambulance and I tried to find someone who worked at the hotel. Maybe if there was a lifeguard, she'd be okay? God, I don't even want to think about it anymore."
The London Ambulance Service confirmed that they arrived on the scene within minutes of Sherwood's call, but Bloxham was pronounced dead on arrival.
Bloxham's tragic death comes less than a year after she swam across the English Channel for the fifth time, in an effort to raise money for the charity she founded in 1985, Just Keep Swimming. The charity funds extracurricular outreach programs for underprivileged and at risk children and young adults, and when it opened, Bloxham claimed in her speech that "swimming saved my life, time and time again, and went some way to providing the therapy I desperately needed. I would love to help thousands of children, but even if only a single one benefits from my work, then I've done my job."
As of March 2019, Just Keep Swimming has provided vital help to over seven million children and teenagers in need, including pool access, swimming lessons, and even aquatic therapy.
As well as being a passionate advocate for sporting opportunities for adolescents, Bloxham was also heavily involved in mental health charities after her late husband, Matthew Bloxham, took his own life in January 2002. While single-handedly raising and homeschooling her daughter, Bloxham was also chair of Let's Talk About MENtal Health, a charity advocating for the destigmatisation of male mental health and providing access and support for men and boys of all ages.
Bloxham's influence and astounding contributions to charity were made possible by her successful career as a competitive swimmer: at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Bloxham won silver in the 200m freestyle and bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay, before taking home silver and bronze at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada. In 1980, she competed in the Moscow Summer Olympics, scoring a silver medal for her 800m freestyle, and at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia, she won three bronzes.
The swimmer retired from competitive swimming in 1983, at the age of 29. Fourteen years after founding Just Keep Swimming and dedicating her life to charity, Bloxham welcomed her daughter in 1999 and defended the decision to have a child at the age of 45, stating that motherhood had always been on the cards for her, but only once she felt it was the right time.
After the tragic death of her husband, who died of a self-inflicted shotgun wound while staying on his parents' farm in 2001, Bloxham chose to home-school daughter Liberty and travel the world.
"They hardly stayed long in one place," reports a friend of the family, who wishes to remain anonymous. "London was their base, but Anna was a free spirit. There was no tying her down, not even with a toddler in tow. All she wanted was for her kid to have everything she never did."
The paper reached out to Liberty Bloxham for comment, but was unable to receive a response.
Share or comment on this article: Champion swimmer drowns in hotel pool
---COMMENTS---
[Showing 10 of 212 comments]
Karen14712, Lancaster, UK: "champion swimmer drowns" on April fools day......seems legit
Lolly Polly, Isle of Wight, UK: omg karen WTAF read the article!!! not a joke! omg. RIP Anna xxx
KoolKarin38, Manchester, UK: ok but this is kind of ironic, right? like, what were the chances?
MalcolmInTheMidwest, Montana, USA: y'all are heartless
Hank E Pank, Dudley, UK: sad. she was so beautiful. rip
User187214612, Grimsby, UK: @Karen14712 lmao so true, totally april fools!! who even is anna bloxham anyway? a joke!
K. D., Llangollen, UK: so sad! lost my mum too young too, hope her daughters ok! xxx
Karen14712, Lancaster, UK: @User187214612 right!!! total clickbait title
yabbadabbado, Falmouth, UK: smh this isn't even even subtle. april fools much? try better next time...
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LibbyBBloxham, London, UK: we can all agree the timing is shit and the title sounds fake. i really wish it was. it really fucking isn't.
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